Regular sleep is important for health. While the CDC recommends adults get at least seven hours of sleep a night, adults in the U.S. are chronically sleep-deprived.
Sleep matters for multiple reasons.
- Cognitive function: Sleeping is crucial for the brain to process information from the previous day and form new neural pathways. Getting adequate amounts of sleep aids with learning, decision-making and mood regulation.
- Physical health: Getting enough sleep helps improve physical health, including aiding in blood and heart vessel repair, decreasing high blood pressure and obesity risk, helping regulate appetite and boosting the immune system.
- Safety: People who do not receive an adequate amount of sleep may experience microsleep, in which they experience brief periods of sleep during an awake state. Microsleep can pose safety issues, especially when people experience it while driving. Driving while tired is almost as risky as driving under the influence.
Sleep deprivation happens when one doesn’t get enough sleep, has an inconsistent sleep schedule or experiences disrupted sleep. Symptoms of sleep deprivation include feeling tired during the day and problems with learning, memory or controlling your emotions.
Apple’s Sleep Focus mode for iPhone, introduced with iOS 15 in 2021, helps iPhone users maintain a standard sleep schedule and remove distracting notifications when it’s time to relax for the evening. It also has a “Wind Down” period — ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours before bedtime — to help ease you into sleep mode slowly. Users on iOS 17 and later can take advantage of Focus Filters, which allow extra customization during Sleep Focus, like automatically enabling Dark Mode. This post will talk about what iPhone Sleep Focus is before describing how to set it up and use its features.
What Is iPhone Sleep Mode?
Apple’s sleep mode, called Sleep Focus, was introduced with iOS 15 in 2021 and lets you set a sleep schedule free from iPhone notification distractions. Sleep Focus lets iPhone users turn off notifications when they want to relax and signal to others that they are unavailable. You can schedule your iPhone sleep mode to activate at the bedtime you set via the Health app.
Sleep Focus also includes a “Wind Down” period that can start anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours before your set bedtime, and it gives you time to unwind before sleep officially starts. For users on iOS 17 or later, Focus Filters add even more customization and let you automatically trigger settings like Dark Mode when Sleep Focus activates. If you use an Apple Watch running watchOS 11, sleep tracking now happens automatically without needing to manually enable Sleep Focus at all.
Depending on the type of iPhone you have, you can press either the side button or the sleep/wake button to view the Sleep Focus lock screen. From there, you can dismiss it and swipe up for Face ID or press the Home button to access your device as needed.
Benefits of Using Sleep Mode
Setting an iPhone sleep schedule can have benefits. Whenever someone receives a notification on their iPhone, they receive a rush of dopamine, a brain chemical connected with reward and pleasure. Social media, email and other smartphone apps give you an endless dopamine loop, causing people to feel like they need to always check their phones. Some scientists even say social media is addictive.
Sleep mode disrupts the chain of endless notifications by allowing iPhone users to automatically turn them off for a set period. Sleep Focus, introduced with iOS 15, will enable you to rest peacefully while still allowing emergency notifications from family and friends.
Sleep Focus puts you in control of the following.
- Receiving calls: Focus allows you to select the contacts you would like to receive calls from. You can choose to accept all calls, calls from all contacts, calls from favorites in your contacts or no calls at all while you have Sleep Focus activated. You can also set up call forwarding on your iPhone to manage calls during these periods.
- From whom to receive notifications: You can select notifications from trusted contacts to come through when you activate Sleep Focus on your iPhone. You can also ensure you receive any essential notifications from apps while Sleep Focus is running.
- Who knows you have notifications silenced: iPhones allow you to choose whether to share your device’s focus status. By turning “Focus Status” on, you can decide whether you display your device’s “do not disturb” status to people who message you. When a user turns on Focus Sharing, people who contact them can only see they have the feature turned on, not which focus they’re using.
- App behavior during Sleep Focus: On iOS 17 and later, Focus Filters allow you to customize how apps behave while Sleep Focus is active – for example, automatically enabling Dark Mode to reduce screen brightness during your wind-down period.
Either turn off notifications only when you’re planning on sleeping, or extend your Sleep Focus time with the Wind Down feature, which can start anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours before your scheduled bedtime. You can choose wind-down shortcuts to appear on the wind-down lock screen. Shortcuts include relaxing activities like music, spoken-word stories, journaling or meditation. Then, set an alarm sound, vibration or snooze option to wake up in the morning. You can also have no alarm.
Many also use Sleep Focus to maintain a regular sleep schedule – it helps you get better sleep and feel more rested when you wake up. While experts recommend keeping a steady sleep schedule for best health, Sleep Focus also lets you set multiple schedules for weekdays and weekends. If you run into any issues with the feature, check out common iOS problems and how to fix them. For Apple Watch users, watchOS 11 takes this even further by tracking sleep automatically, without needing to manually enable Sleep Focus each night.
How to Set up Sleep Mode
Enabling Sleep Focus on the iPhone is easy. Apple’s user interface and instructions are intuitive enough that you can follow along with the on-screen prompts. When creating your first sleep schedule, Apple recommends starting in the Health app and following a few simple steps:
- Tap the “Browse” tab at the bottom right and then “Sleep.”
- Tap “Get Started,” located below “Set up Sleep.”
- Follow the app’s on-screen instructions.
While the process may look slightly different depending on your iPhone’s model and iOS version, you can usually set up Sleep Focus by taking the following steps:
- Open the Health app.
- Press the “Browse” tab at the bottom right of the screen.
- Scroll to select “Sleep,” the menu item with a bed icon next to it.
- Select “Full Schedule & Options” under the “Your Schedule” tab.
- Choose “Options” from the “Additional Details” tab.
- Toggle the “Turn on Automatically” switch for Sleep Focus.
If you’re running iOS 17 or later, you can also take advantage of Focus Filters, which allow you to customize app behavior during Sleep Focus – just to give you an example, automatically enabling Dark Mode when Sleep Focus activates. Additionally, the Wind Down feature lets Sleep Focus kick in anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours before your set bedtime. That helps you slowly disconnect before sleep.
For Apple Watch users on watchOS 11, sleep tracking now happens automatically without needing to manually enable Sleep Focus, which makes the experience even easier.
How to Adjust or Turn off Sleep Mode
When your sleep schedule changes, you might want to adjust or turn off the iPhone sleep mode. You can modify or add schedules by picking particular days for alarms and changing your wake and sleep schedule. You can also delete or permanently turn off schedules and alarms. To either adjust or delete a sleep schedule, open the Health app, tap Browse, choose Sleep, then tap Your Schedule followed by Full Schedule & Options. From there, you can manage your iPhone Sleep Focus settings – like your Wind Down period, which can be set anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours before bedtime so you can slowly prepare for sleep.
If you’re running iOS 17 or later, you also have access to Focus Filters, which let you further customize how your iPhone behaves during Sleep Focus – for example, automatically switching to Dark Mode when Sleep Focus activates. These extra controls can be found under Settings > Focus > Sleep. Whether you want to fine-tune your schedule or disable Sleep Focus entirely, these options are accessible from either the Health app or your iPhone’s Focus settings.
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Sleep Focus is one of the benefits of owning an iPhone. If you’re looking to purchase a quality iPhone on a budget, consider buying a used device with Gazelle. All our refurbished devices have a 30-day warranty, so you can rest assured you’re making a more eco-friendly and economical choice.
Contact us to learn about our used device buying and selling options. You can also discover more Apple tips and tricks on our blog.