How to stop scrolling your phone before bed

Updated October 1, 2026. iPhone steps checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide (iOS 27 and iOS 26).

Short answer

Combine three things: Sleep Focus, which silences notifications at bedtime; a schedule without social apps in Screen Time; and, if that is not enough, a real nighttime block, like a schedule goal in Mialera (for example, nothing after 11 pm).

1. Turn on Sleep Focus

Sleep Focus filters notifications and calls and lets others know you are not available. It can start from 15 minutes to 3 hours before your bedtime.

Create a sleep schedule in the Health app. On iOS 27: Browse > Sleep > Sleep > Get Started. On iOS 26: tap Search, then Sleep > Your Schedule > Sleep Schedule > Set Your First Schedule.
In Full Schedule & Options, turn on Use Schedule for Sleep Focus.
To choose who and which apps can reach you, open Settings > Focus > Sleep and adjust People, Apps and Options.

2. Take social apps out of the night with Screen Time

On iOS 27: Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule, turn on Schedule, tap Add Schedule and create a Time Window for the night.
On iOS 26: Settings > Screen Time > Downtime > Scheduled and set the start and end. With a Screen Time passcode, turn on Block at Downtime so the apps cannot open.

Without a passcode, the schedule can be ignored on iOS 26. See why your Screen Time limit doesn’t hold.

3. Instagram: sleep mode

In Instagram, under Profile > Menu > Time management > Sleep mode, you choose the hours when notifications pause and messages get an auto-reply. For most accounts, Instagram still opens: it pauses the alerts, it does not block.

4. A nighttime block that holds

If you switch all of that off in bed, a schedule goal in Mialera closes social apps during the window you choose, and the block screen has no unlock button. With sealed mode (Mialera+), not even you can turn the goal off during the window.

Download Mialera from the App Store, open it and allow Screen Time access.
In the Goals tab, tap + new, choose On a schedule and tap Continue.
Tap the Night suggestion or set Starts, Ends and Days.
Under Which apps, tap Pick, select the apps you open in bed and tap Create goal.

5. Habits that help

Charge your phone outside the bedroom, or away from the bed.
Use a separate alarm clock so you do not need the phone when you wake up.
Keep a book on the nightstand: it makes it easier to swap scrolling for something else.

Frequently asked questions

Does Sleep Focus block apps?

No. It silences notifications and calls, but apps still open. To keep apps closed at night, use a Screen Time schedule with a passcode or a schedule goal in Mialera.

Does Mialera’s free plan include a nighttime block?

Yes. The free plan includes 1 schedule goal, which works for the night, and 1 time goal. Sealed mode is part of Mialera+.

Mialera is free to start: the free plan never expires and already blocks.

Download on the App Store