This secret Pixel feature affects how my entire day plays out

We all know how distracting modern phones and tablets can be, what with their dopamine-hijacking social media apps, their doomscrollable short-form video content feeds, their overstimulating interface elements, their constant barrages of notifications, and their disruptive blue light emissions that negatively impact sleep.

Thankfully, there are a variety of pragmatic steps that can be taken to quell all this digital noise, including dedicated software tools that help in reclaiming those sacred few hours leading up to bed. On my Pixel 10, I personally rely on Google’s native Digital Wellbeing suite to help me unwind each and every evening.

With Digital Wellbeing’s Bedtime Mode, I have my phone set up to automatically enter Do Not Disturb once the sun has set, while also filtering out notifications, non-essential text message alerts, and more. The addition of grayscale is another major element here that I love, helping to dull the allure of using my phone when I should be resting.

How to set up Bedtime Mode on your Google Pixel

The functionality is configurable from within the main Settings app

To get started with Bedtime Mode on a Pixel phone or tablet, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings application.
2. Navigate to Modes > Create your own mode.
3. From here, tap on Bedtime.
4. Next, tap on the Create button, followed by Customize in Modes.
5. From within this screen, you can toggle Bedtime Mode on or off, as well as customize its behavior.

Customization options include the following:

• Bedtime routine: set an automatic schedule, as well as configure whether to turn off the mode when your next alarm rings
• Allow all notifications: a top-level toggle to enable or disable all incoming notifications
• People: configure who can interrupt in the form of incoming messages and calls
• Apps: configure which applications can interrupt
• Alarms & other interruptions: configure whether alarms, media sounds, touch sounds, reminders, and calendar events can interrupt
• Display settings: configure advanced notification settings, whether grayscale is enabled or disabled, whether the always-on display is activated, whether to dim the wallpaper or not, and whether to switch to the system’s dark theme or not

When put all together and customized to your liking, Bedtime Mode can be a powerful out-of-box utility for keeping distractions out of sight and out of mind when winding down in the evenings. As part of a broader pre-sleep routine, Bedtime Mode can help bolster your overall sleep hygiene, which is as important as it sounds for overall health and wellbeing.

With automation in tow, you also don’t have to worry about manually enabling and disabling Bedtime Mode on a regular basis. That being said, the mode can be manually toggled via an optional quick settings tile within Android’s drop-down pane, and, when activated, you can pause or cancel its operation via a dedicated notification that appears in this same pane.