5 Ways To Optimize Your iPhone For Nighttime Use
Using your smartphone in the evening well into bedtime is arguably inevitable for most users — people usually spend the most time on their devices after a full day of work, errands, school, and other activities. It’s a great way to decompress, catch up on news and loved ones, and just kill time, among other reasons. Of course, it’s also true that prolonged exposure to your device’s display screen can cause varying levels of eye strain and maybe even fatigue. It’s also not advisable to look at something so bright at night because it can negatively affect your body’s internal clock that balances your overall alertness and affects your level of sleepiness. The same is true for apps that are set to send notifications, which can get out of hand when you don’t have your quiet time properly enabled.
The good news is most mobile phones these days have features that allow you to continue using your gadget without the usual distraction of a bright display or incessant alerts, to name a few. If you own an iPhone, you’re able to set up schedules that’ll do things like switch your display screen to something less jarring, mute notifications, and even bar access to certain apps if you want. In addition, you can also automate launching services or functions that make it easier for you to manage certain nighttime habits.
Below is a list of some suggestions on what you can do to make your iPhone more bedtime-friendly.
Set your iPhone to switch automatically to Dark mode or grayscale
If you don’t already prefer reading text against a darker background on your iPhone, this may take some getting used to. However, it’s definitely the preferred option when using your mobile phone at night, whether you’re in a low-light public space where discreet cell phone use is warranted or at home and winding down for the day.
If you don’t want to go the whole day withDark mode enabled on your iPhone, you may set up a schedule so that it kicks on just when the day starts to transition into the evening. Here’s how:
You can alsoturn your iPhone screen black and whitevia the iPhone’s Color Filters option. By removing colors from your screen when using your iPhone at night, you either make it easier on the eyes so there’s less strain or less enticing to use so you can go to sleep instead, whichever is more applicable. To use the iPhone in grayscale and create a shortcut:
To switch between a colored and grayscale display screen, you just have to hit the iPhone’s side button three times.
Enable Night Shift and auto-brightness
iPhones have a Night Shift optionthat automatically switches your display screen to warmer tones, making it possible to continue using your device without disturbing your circadian rhythm which lets you fall asleep more easily. Much like Dark mode, Night Shift is an additional way to address potential eye fatigue. Even though it’s designed for nighttime use, you can turn it on during the day if you need to. However, to have it automatically kick on according to your iPhone’s clock and geolocation, do the following:
Alternatively, tap Custom Schedule. Have the feature Turn On close to sunset where you are so that your iPhone screen is in tune with your body clock. Have it Turn Off at a time when you usually wake up. Once you set a schedule, go back to the Night Shift menu and tweak the Color Temperature slider to your preferred warmth level — the warmer the setting, the better for your eyes.
Next, check your device’s brightness levels. Swipe down from the top-right edge of your iPhone to open the Control Center. At night, the brightness bar (sun icon) should be at 50% or lower. Manually turning the levels down this way is acceptable, but you can also turn on theiPhone’s auto-brightness feature, which adjusts your screen according to the light conditions around you. It’s enabled by default, but here’s how you can double-check:
In case your screen brightness isn’t adapting correctly, follow these steps and turn Auto-Brightness off and then on.
Set up a sleep schedule
A more efficient way of waking up to start your day is bysetting up a Focus modespecifically designed for sleep. Apart from being able to set bed and wake-up times and schedule an alarm, you can also filter out app notifications and phone calls while the Sleep Focus is in effect, ensuring that you have uninterrupted sleep, except for emergencies if necessary. To get started:
Go through every section and customize your Sleep Focus. Choose people and apps you’d like to allow notifications from even with the focus switched on. To ensure that it’s only for emergency purposes, enable Allow Repeated Calls for People andTime Sensitive Notifications for Apps. Furthermore, you can also customize your lock and home screens and how certain apps behave while Sleep Focus is enabled.
Next, set a recurring bedtime and wake-up schedule:
Check that the Sleep Schedule and Use Schedule for Sleep Focus toggles are enabled and that you select a Wind Down period before your desired bedtime. Sleep Focus should automatically turn on at your selected Wind Down to facilitate restful sleep.
Take advantage of the Downtime feature
Right before bedtime is when you may be tempted to app-hop with abandon on your iPhone, which may have detrimental effects to the quality of your sleep. To help curb your desire to nightscroll, it may be a good idea to schedule much-needed time away from the screen when it’s almost time to get in bed.
Alternatively, you may apply Downtime immediately at any time of the day by tapping Turn On Downtime Until Tomorrow — this should keep the feature enabled until midnight. If you have a schedule set, this will show up as Turn On Downtime Until Schedule, which means downtime will be in effect until you wake up the next day. A reminder should appear on your iPhone five minutes before downtime begins.
Set up a few end-of-day reminders and automations
If you’re the type of person who likes to document the day’s highs and lows, you may want to try outusing the iPhone Journal app. You can set it up to remind you to write something close to bedtime so it becomes a habit:
For those who can’t sleep without the assistance of white noise, you canuse your iPhone as a sound machine. To have it automatically turn on for bedtime, do the following:
If you’d like to set the background sound you hear at bedtime, launch the Settings app, go to Accessibility, and select Audio & Visual. Then, go to Background Sounds, hit Sound, and make your selection.
Finally, if you prefer playing music or listening to an audiobook to lull yourself to sleep, ensure that youset up a playback timer via the iPhone Clock appthat’ll automatically stop the audio from whatever app you’re using by selecting “Stop Playing” for the “When Timer Ends” option.
