Sound sleep is essential for physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. Besides, improper sleep cycles can lead to obesity and cardiovascular diseases in the long term. Hence, the Sleep Schedule feature in iOS 14 (called Bedtime in iOS 13 and 12) is quite essential.
The Bedtime app helps you achieve your sleeping goals efficiently. Undoubtedly, this has been popular among many iPhone users. However, if you are new to it, this post explains how to set up and use Bedtime for sleep tracking on iPhone. Let’s get started!
Table of Content
How does Bedtime work on iPhone?
We often compromise on a steady sleep cycle for work, family, friends, movies, etc. The Bedtime feature is dedicated to improving your sleep.
After you set a bedtime and wake-up time, the Clock app will remind you to go to bed and wake you up when it’s time. But that’s not all!
You can even track your sleep. While not as accurate as some third-party sleep tracking apps, it still does a decent job.
Note: Earlier, Bedtime was in the Clock app on both the iPhone and iPad. But with iOS 14, it is now in the Health app. However, since the Health app is not present on the iPad, you will find this option in the Clock app on the latest iPadOS 14.
Setup Bedtime on iPhone in iOS 14 or later
- Open the Health app → tap Browse.
- Hit Sleep.
- Tap Get Started → Next.
- Under sleep goal, it shows 8 hours by default. You can change it by tapping the – or + buttons.
- Now, tap Next.
- Set your schedule.
By default, all days are selected.- Deselect the days you do not want the alarm to ring.
- Next, choose the sleeping and wake-up time.
- Drag the ends of the rotator to change the time.
- Scroll to the bottom and change default options like Sound, Snooze, etc. Once done, tap Add.
- Review your settings and tap Next.
- Choose to Enable Sleep Mode or not.
- Read the description for Wind Down and choose to enable it or not.
- Optional: Set up Wind Down Shortcuts by tapping Set Up Shortcuts → select the desired shortcut (I like to listen to Spotify before falling asleep).
- Tap Next.
After this, the lockscreen will have a ‘Shortcuts’ button. When you tap it, you can choose the desired shortcut and go there directly. This eliminates the need to open the Home screen and see app badges or notifications – things that would invite you to check them and disturb your sleep.
- Finally, review the settings and tap Done.
You have successfully set up the Bedtime schedule.
How to turn on or off Bedtime on iPhone
- Open the Health app → Browse → Sleep.
- Tap the card that says Full Schedule & Options.
- Toggle off Sleep Schedule.
Follow the same steps to turn it back on.
How to change the time or days for Bedtime alarms
- Open the Health app → Browse → Sleep.
- Tap Full Schedule & Options card.
- Tap Edit.
- Under Days Active, tap to select or deselect the days.
- Under Bedtime and Wake Up, drag the ends to reconfigure the bed time and wake-up time.
- Tap Done to save the new changes.
Customize Bedtime alarm on iPhone
In iOS 14 or later, options are simplified. Everything is under proper tabs. All you have to do is carefully read the option name, the text below it, and make changes as desired.
Here’s some guidance on how to customize the Sleep Schedule on iPhone.
- Go to the Health app → tap Browse → Sleep.
- Tap the card for Full Schedule & Options.
We already saw how to change time, days or enable and disable Sleep Schedule in the above section. - Now, scroll down to Additional Details.
- Tap Sleep Goal to change it.
- Next, tap Wind Down to set it as desired.
- Tap Wind Down Shortcuts to add another shortcut or remove the existing one.
- Tap Options.
All toggles here are enabled. These default settings are perfect for most. But you can read the text below each option and disable them if needed.
Check your sleep history from the Health app
- Open the Health app and tap Browse.
- Next, tap Sleep.
- The first graph here shows your sleep data. Tap W (week) or M (month) to view the desired graphs.
- Tap Show More Sleep Data to dive deep.
Here you can see the average time in bed, average time asleep, etc.
Notes:
- To manually enter sleep data, tap Add Data from the top right.
- If you use your iPhone when you’re supposed to be in bed, you won’t get credit for that time. Or, if you snooze the Wake alarm, the time you stay in bed updates to match.
Video: How to use Bedtime on iPhone to track your sleep
Remember, Bedtime tracks the time you spend in bed, not how much or how well! Additionally, it reminds you to sleep but does not help you fall asleep. But you can always use third-party sleep-inducing apps.
I hope our thorough guide on using Bedtime on iPhone helped you. Have more queries? Share in the comments below.
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up until a few days ago, my phone played the beginning of a lullaby 1 minute before my scheduled bedtime began, which I liked. One night this week it changed to a simple “bonk” sound. I don’t see how to select the audio played at bedtime as a reminder. Is there a way to do that?