Let’s face it. Our sleep schedules have been messed up of late and cordoned within the four walls of our house has made it easier than ever to lose track of time. Google knows this too. According to them, sleep-related searches like “insomnia” and “can’t sleep” have reached all-time highs in March and April. To help address some of these issues, Google is rolling out new bedtime tools that will help you manage your sleep better.
Bedtime Mode
Formerly known as Wind Down, Bedtime Mode reminds you when its time to sleep by making use of grayscale and putting the phone on DND automatically. The new update makes it easier to customize how and when you turn it on. You can either set it to switch on automatically according to your bedtime schedule or choose to turn it on when your phones put to charge.
Users can now also add a dedicated tile in the quick settings panel to instantly turn on bedtime mode instead of having to dig into settings and turning it on.
Bedtime Mode is available on all devices with Digital Wellbeing and parental controls settings.
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Updated Clock Application
The Clock application also gets a few new tricks up its sleeves. The Clock app now gets a new Bedtime tab that lets you set daily sleep and wake times. Not only that, but the app also integrates your Google Calendar and gives you a preview of tomorrow in case you need to tweak your bedtime in accordance.
Once you approach your bedtime, the clock application will send a reminder and give you an option to play calming sounds from Spotify, Calm, YouTube Music and more. If you have digital wellbeing installed on your device, the application can be paired with Bedtime mode to limit interruptions.
Lastly, there is a new 'Sunrise Alarm' that, apart from giving visual cues 15 minutes prior to your alarm, will also allow you to select the audio you’d like to wake up with.
The new Clock app is currently only available for Pixel devices but will soon roll out to Android devices later this summer.
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Family Link
If you’re keen on keeping a tab on the bedtime schedule of your kids, Family Link will help you do so. Family Link is a standalone application (also available on iOS) that can let you control what your children do on their Android smartphones. You can manage their screen time activity, application downloads, in-app purchases and even set bedtime schedules.
The bedtime schedules can be customized to be different for weekdays and weekends. And even though your children’s device will be locked when its time for bed, they’ll still be able to call out in case they need to get in touch with you.
Lastly, Google is also rolling out bedtime reminders within the YouTube application that will remind you when it’s time for bed. The reminder can be set to pop up either at the time of bedtime or when the video you’re watching ends.
