If you’ve ever checked your phone in the middle of the night only to be greeted by a bright screen, you’re not alone. Using the Shortcuts app, you can automatically reduce your iPhone’s brightness when your Sleep Focus begins, helping make nighttime phone use a little easier on your eyes.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a personal automation that lowers your screen brightness during your scheduled bedtime hours. This walkthrough uses Apple’s Shortcuts app together with Sleep Focus, allowing your iPhone to adjust the brightness automatically without any manual changes each night.

What You’ll Learn

  • Create an iPhone automation using the Shortcuts app.
  • Automatically lower screen brightness at bedtime.
  • Trigger an automation using your Sleep Focus schedule.
  • Choose a custom brightness level.
  • Enable the automation to run automatically each night.

Follow Along

No downloads or practice files are required for this tutorial.

Simply open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone and follow the steps below. Before you begin, make sure your Sleep Focus schedule has already been configured in your iPhone settings.

Common Uses

This automation is helpful if you want to:

  • Reduce eye strain before bed.
  • Avoid being blinded by a bright screen overnight.
  • Create a more comfortable nighttime experience.
  • Pair brightness changes with Sleep Focus.
  • Build additional bedtime automations using the Shortcuts app.

Requirements & Compatibility

Requirements

Compatibility

This tutorial uses Apple’s built-in Shortcuts and Focus features. While menu layouts may vary slightly between iOS versions, the overall process remains very similar in current releases.

Video Tutorial

Understanding the Automation

Rather than adjusting your brightness manually every evening, this automation automatically changes your screen brightness whenever your Sleep Focus begins.

The workflow is simple:

  1. Sleep Focus starts.
  2. The automation runs automatically.
  3. Screen brightness changes to your chosen level.

Once configured, the automation repeats every night without additional setup.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Configure your Sleep Focus schedule under Settings > Focus > Sleep.
  2. Open the Shortcuts app.
  3. Tap the Automation tab.
  4. Create a Personal Automation.
  5. Select Sleep as the trigger.
  6. Choose when the automation should run.
  7. Select Run Immediately.
  8. Add a new blank automation.
  9. Add the Set Brightness action.
  10. Choose your preferred brightness percentage.
  11. Save the automation.

Your iPhone will now automatically reduce screen brightness whenever your Sleep Focus begins.

Ideas for Expanding This Automation

Once you’ve created this automation, consider pairing it with other bedtime actions, such as:

  • Turning on Low Power Mode
  • Opening a white noise or meditation app
  • Setting volume to a comfortable nighttime level
  • Enabling a Focus mode
  • Running additional Shortcuts automatically

Additional Tips

Helpful Tip

Experiment with different brightness levels over a few nights. A setting between 10% and 20% is often comfortable for nighttime viewing while still remaining readable.

Version Compatibility

Apple occasionally updates the appearance of the Shortcuts app and automation screens. Even if the interface looks slightly different, the underlying automation process remains largely the same.

Related Features

Once you’re comfortable with Shortcuts, you can also automate tasks such as:

  • Enabling Low Power Mode.
  • Turning Wi-Fi on or off.
  • Opening an app at a specific time.
  • Adjusting volume automatically.
  • Changing Focus modes.

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