How to Set a Sleep Timer in Apple Music

Listening to music as you drift off to sleep is really relaxing, but what isn’t relaxing is the music playing all night when you don’t want it to. Many streaming services now have a Sleep Timer feature, which means it will automatically stop playing music at a time that you set.

Apple Music has a massive range of music, somewhere in the region of 100 million tracks, and there are some incredible playlists that are designed to help people drift off to sleep or at the very least, relax, in fact they have a whole category dedicated to it: Apple Music Sleep Edit.

But there is one big problem - unlike the Spotify Sleep Timer feature, Apple Music just doesn’t have this feature built-in apart from on the Android version of the app. This feels like a huge oversight, considering how much of a machine Apple is, but instead of having it in the Apple Music app, you can use one of their other iOS features.

Does Apple Music have a sleep timer?

The short answer is no - unless you are on Android, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t workarounds to make sure that your music isn’t playing long into the small hours of the morning.

For those who have an iPad or iPhone, you’ll be using an Apple feature to make sure that you get some restful snooze.

The Clock app for the iPad and the iPhone means you can set a sleep timer and let your favorite nighttime Apple Music playlist help you off to a restful sleep.

For those who have Windows, or a Mac - there are workarounds for that, too.

How to set up Apple Music sleep timer on iPad or iPhone?

• Go to your Utilities or search for the Clock app.
• Look for Timers in the bottom right
• Choose how long you want the timer to run for, and then tap When Timer Ends.

• Scroll down to Stop Playing at the bottom
• Click Set and then Start Timer when you are ready.
• Once that is set up, your Apple Music will stop playing once the timer runs out.

Shortcuts Option

You can use the Shortcuts option to help set up triggers or timers which means your phone will take specific actions.
Here is how to set up an Apple Music Sleep Timer with Shortcuts.

• Search for the Shortcuts app.
• Open the app and select Automation.
• You will then tap New Automation or the +, depending on whether you already have other automations set up.

• Go to Time of Day, and select when you’d like the music to stop. You can set this to Weekly or Daily, but Daily is the default.
• Remember to select Run Immediately so that the Shortcut runs from now on.
• Now tap on New Blank Automation.

• Add Action
• Type Pause in the search bar, and Play/Pause will appear as an option; select it. Then tap the Play/Pause and select Pause.
• All you need to do now is press Done, and your Apple Music Sleep Timer is set.

Use Voice Recognition with an Apple Music Sleep timer.

For those who don’t want to be tied into a routine, you can use Siri to help you out. Just give Siri the voice command, “Hey Siri, stop playing music in one hour”. Wait for Siri to confirm, and that is it done.

How to set up Apple Music Sleep Timer on Android?

• Open the Apple Music app on your Android device, tap on a song, and look for the three dots when the playback interface is on the screen. Tap the three dots, and you’ll see a range of options; Sleep Timer is at the bottom.
• Tap Sleep Timer, and you’ll get a pop-up timer that has a range of timer options: 15 minutes, up to an hour, as well as When Current Song Ends and When Current Album Ends.

Select the option that works for you, and that is your Apple Music Sleep Timer on Android set.

To unset your Sleep Timer, go back to the Now Playing UI, tap the three dots again, tap the crescent moon (it will now show a Sleep Timer countdown on it), and then select Off in the next menu.

How to set Apple Music Sleep Timer on Mac?

Setting up a Sleep Timer on your Mac to use with Apple Music only has a few steps to it.

For Sonoma

• Head to your System Settings.
• Look for the Lock Screen in the sidebar.
• Change the Turn Off Display options to suit your needs.

Troubleshooting: some users find that with an external screen plugged in after the changes have been applied, they need to restart the system. Other people found that Bluetooth connections kept the Mac awake or made it wake. These issues typically arise with Sonoma 14.1.1.

For Catalina

• Open your System Preferences.
• Click on Energy Saver.
• Click on Schedule in the bottom right of the pop-up.
• Edit the Schedule to Sleep at a specific time each day.
• Click OK, and your schedule is set.

For other iOS versions the actions are similar, look or Lock, Energy or Battery and you can usually ind sleep/wake options.

How to set an Apple Music Sleep Timer on Windows?

Setting up an Apple Music Sleep Timer on a Windows PC is super simple and perhaps the most intuitive of all.

• Go to Settings.
• Click System.
• Then click on Power & Sleep.
• Edit how long it takes the PC to go to sleep to suit how long you want to listen to your music.

Why should you use a Sleep Timer on Apple Music?

With music it might not be such a big deal; after all, most people use LoFi and other relaxing music with the purpose of going to sleep - it doesn’t matter if you miss it or not. But while you’re snoring away, all of those electronics are going to be using more energy than you might like - and who wants to run up the electric bill while they’re asleep?

Another reason for adding a sleep timer to your set schedule or on the fly is a good idea, is if you listen to podcasts. It can be such a pain to scroll back to the last bit you think you heard, but if you have a sleep timer in place, it can stop you from missing out on so much.

Key Takeaways: How to Set a Sleep Timer in Apple Music

Apple Music Lacks a Built-In Sleep Timer: Unlike some other streaming services, Apple Music doesn't have a native sleep timer feature. However, there are workarounds available for users on different devices.

iOS Devices (iPad/iPhone) Sleep Timer Setup:

• Open the Clock app.
• Navigate to Timers, and set the desired duration.
• Tap "When Timer Ends," scroll to "Stop Playing," and select it.
• Click Set and Start Timer to activate the sleep timer.

Sleep Routine Option for iOS Devices:

• Use the Sleep | Wake Up routine in conjunction with the Shortcuts app.
• Set up automation in the Shortcuts app to pause Apple Music at a specified time daily or weekly.

Voice Recognition (Siri) Sleep Timer:

• Use Siri voice commands, such as "Hey Siri, stop playing music in one hour," to set a sleep timer without a routine.

Android, Windows, Mac Sleep Timer Setup:

• On Android, open the Apple Music app, tap the three dots, select Sleep Timer, and choose a duration.
• On Windows, adjust sleep settings in System Settings > Power & Sleep.
• On Mac (Sonoma), configure sleep options in System Settings > Lock Screen. For Catalina, set up a schedule in System Preferences > Energy Saver.

If having the option for a Sleep Timer is a deal breaker for you, and Apple Music just isn’t living up to what you need, then you should consider switching from Apple Music to Spotify or Apple Music to YouTube Music as both of their music streaming services offer built-in sleep timers.

Did the idea of switching make you fear for the future of your playlists, albums, and songs? Fear not! You can take all of your music with you from Apple Music to Spotify, YouTube Music, or any other streaming service ultra-fast with FreeYourMusic.