Secret iPhone ‘sleep’ modes help you nod off including little-known ‘background’ trick buried deep in your settings
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STRUGGLING to get some shut-eye? There are some handy iPhone tricks that can help. Apple has built at least five different sleep-friendly features into your iPhone – but the little-known "modes" are easy to miss. First up is Background Sounds, which is buried deep inside your settings app, but extremely handy for getting to sleep.
![[iPhone screen showing background sounds settings.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iphone-sleep-002.jpg?strip=all&w=598)
It lets you play soothing noises in the background, which is great if you struggle to sleep in total silence. You'll find the feature in Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds. Apple explains: "These sounds can minimise distractions and help you to focus, calm, or rest.".
![[iPhone screen showing background sound options; rain is selected.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iphone-sleep-003.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
If you tap on Sound, you can choose any of the following:. It's worth trying a few to see which one you like best. There's an option to adjust the volume, and you can also set it up to work while other media (like a podcast) is playing. If you want to quickly activate it, you can add Background Sounds to your Control Centre (which you can access and customise by swiping down from the top-right corner on an iPhone with Face ID, or up from the bottom on a Home Button model).
![[iPhone accessibility shortcut settings.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iphone-sleep-001.jpg?strip=all&w=472)
Alternatively, you can go Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and choose Background Sounds. Then you can turn Background Sounds on or off just by triple-clicking your iPhone's Side Button (the one that locks the phone). Another handy trick is the built-in iOS music timer.
![[iPhone screen showing timer end options.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/iphone-sleep-004.jpg?strip=all&w=504)
