Daily Tips

How to set up sleep schedules in Health in iOS 14

iOS 14 allows you to manage and change your sleep goals by using the Health app to schedule times for unwinding at the end of your day, getting to bed, and waking up. 

You can create multiple schedules—for example, one for weekdays and another for weekends. For each schedule, you set up how you want iPhone to wake you by choosing an alarm and other options.

To reduce distractions and help protect your rest, you can enable Sleep Mode for iPhone. Sleep Mode simplifies your Lock Screen and turns on Do Not Disturb. You can schedule Sleep Mode to begin before it’s time for bed.

If you relax before sleep by using iPhone for activities like reading (as I do) or listening to music, you can add Wind Down Shortcuts for these activities on the Lock Screen.

You can set up a schedule for waking up, winding down, and going to bed for one or more days of the week. Open the Health app and:

° Tap Browse at the bottom right, then tap Sleep.

° Swipe up, then tap Get Started (below Set Up Sleep).

° Follow the onscreen instructions.

To make a temporary change to a sleep schedule:

° Tap Browse at the bottom right, then tap Sleep.

° Scroll down to Your Schedule, then tap Edit (it’s below Next).

° To adjust your schedule for going to bed and waking up, drag the bed and alarm (bell) icons.

° Choose alarm options:

  1. Turn the alarm and snooze off or on.
  2. Choose a sound or vibration.

° Tap done.

To change or add a sleep schedule:

° Tap Browse at the bottom right, then tap Sleep.

° Scroll down to Your Schedule, then tap Full Schedule & Options.

° Do one of the following:

  1. Change a sleep schedule: Tap Edit for the schedule you want to change.
  2. Add a sleep schedule: Tap Add Schedule for Other Days.Do any of the following:
  3. Set the days for your schedule: Tap a day at the top of the screen to add or remove it from your schedule. The schedule applies only to days shown with solid-color circles.
  4. Adjust your Bedtime and Wake Up schedule: Drag the bed and alarm (bell) icons.
  5. Set the alarm options: Turn Wake Up Alarm on or off. When Wake Up Alarm is turned on, you can choose a sound, its volume, and more.
  6. Remove or cancel a sleep schedule: Tap Delete Schedule (at the bottom of the screen) to remove an existing schedule, or tap Cancel (at the top of the screen) to cancel creating a new one.
  7. When you’re finished, tap Done or Add.

To turn off all sleep schedules, tap Browse at the bottom right, tap Sleep, tap Full Schedule & Options, then turn off Sleep Schedule (at the top of the screen).

To change your wind down schedule and activities, tap Browse at the bottom right, tap Sleep, tap Full Schedule & Options, then do one of the following:

° Change when to turn on Sleep Mode before your scheduled bedtime: Tap Wind Down, then select a time.

° Add or remove an activity for winding down: Tap Wind Down Shortcuts, then tap Add Another Shortcut or the red “minus” button.
Wind Down Shortcuts for activities like reading or listening to music appear on the Lock Screen when iPhone is in Sleep Mode.

(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages — where the images sometimes come from.)

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.