If you're anything like me, watching a show in bed at the end of a long day is a great way to unwind.
However, when I get fired up and Netflix is still running – sometimes for hours on end – it's a pain to have to try and find my place again the next day. Some apps have built-in sleep timers, but many (like Netflix) still don't.
I had a baby six months ago and I also have a two-year-old, so it's safe to say I'm pretty exhausted at the end of most days. Last night I'll feed the baby (watch a show on the iPad on the nightstand), then lie down for a while and wait for her to fall asleep and for me to fall asleep a little.
As you can imagine, it doesn't actually take me that long to fall asleep, but I do like the comfort of playing on a screen while I fall asleep. However, after constantly falling asleep within 10-20 minutes only to find that my shows kept going on sometimes for hours on end, I started looking for a solution.
Find your sleep timer
This isn't an obvious setting, so you'll be forgiven for missing it. Login to your device Clock appAnd tap timers parameter. I'm sure you'll use this for other purposes, like cooking or as a reminder of what needs to be done.
Click on “When the timer runs out” and scroll to the end of all the ringtone options and you will see “Stop playing” indicated.
Click on it and when your timer runs out, your Netflix show (or other streaming service) will stop and your iPad/iPhone will be locked. You will need click “Install” The first time you do this, you'll know if you did it right because when you return to the main timer screen, next to “When the timer ends” it will now say “Stop Game.”
Depending on how sleepy I am, I set the timer for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes – I usually have a pretty good idea of how much time I'll need. Then the next day when I go back to watch/listen to the show again, I know that I will only have the maximum timer settings to rewind to pick up where I left off.
Until I get a device that accurately recognizes when my eyes are closed, this is the best I can do.
More timer settings
A few more timer settings can help make your life easier. A quick way to switch between different alarm durations (say you need 5 minutes one night, 20 minutes another night, and 10 minutes another night) is to use the ' buttonrecent'.
Scroll through the When the timer runs out section and you'll see a list of all your recently used alarms. Now you can just click on the one I want without having to adjust the timer at the top. Precious seconds saved!
This is also useful if you use the timer for other things during the day, such as cooking. I named my timers “Bedtime” to make sure they were set to “Stop Playing”. You can set the label when you initially create the timer, changing it from “Timer” to whatever you like.
Control Center and Siri
You can also use Control Center and Siri – the latter is quite useful if you need to remain hands-free, for example if your iPad is lying on a cabinet a little out of reach.
For Control Center—the set of options that appear when you swipe down from the top-right corner—you can add a Timer control here. Swipe down, long-press on an empty area of the screen, tap Add Control, and find Timer in the list of options.
Once added you have two options. Tap once and you'll be taken to the regular timer options, but you can also tap and hold the timer icon and then swipe up and down the screen to add or remove time—much like you do with adding or dimming a flashlight. Please note that you should already have the timer set to “Stop Playing”.
Finally, you can of course also use Siri. You will need to either hold the Sidebar/Home button or say “Hey Siri” and then “Set a 10-minute sleep mode.” “Timer” to activate the “Stop Playback” function. Be sure to include the word “Sleep” before the “Timer”, otherwise you will get a rude awakening when the time runs out.
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