It happens every night like clockwork. I finish my evening skincare routine, turn down the lights, then spend a good chunk of time just clicking around on my phone [1]. Sometimes it's 30 minutes, and other times I get sucked into a time vortex, and the next thing I know, it's 2 a.m. Or at least that's what used to happen — fortunately, Apple introduced a solution to this problem with the iOS 10 update [2], and it has literally saved my sleep.

You'll find the Bedtime feature in the Clock app, and it's super easy to use. You simply tell the app when you want to wake up, the number of hours you need to sleep [3], and which days of the week you want to follow this schedule. You can also choose to have your phone remind you when it's time to go to sleep, and select a gentle sound to wake up to each morning. The reminder has been extremely helpful for me, especially when I've fallen down an Instagram or Pinterest rabbit hole on a Tuesday.

But it's actually the Do Not Disturb setting that has had the greatest impact on my sleep. When this is on, the lock screen dims, all text messages and calls are silenced, and any notifications received are stored in history. I find that having my phone silenced during the hours I'm supposed to be sleeping helps prevent me from waking up during the night [4].

For someone who has historically had a hard time getting to bed because of distractions and simply losing track of time, the Bedtime feature is a lifesaver. Maybe technology — and our relationship with it — doesn't have to be so bad after all.