Inside iOS 10: New 'Bedtime' feature helps you get a proper night's sleep

As part of a greater focus on user health, Apple has introduced new alarms in iOS 10 for sleep, reminding users when to go to bed for a full night of rest, and also keeping track of their sleeping habits.

The new bedtime and wake alarms are found and configured in the native Clock app in iOS 10, within an all-new "Bedtime" tab. The app notes that going to bed and waking up at the same times every day are key to healthy sleep.

Apple offers users a simplified setup process, asking a series of questions to configure the "Bedtime Alarm" and "Wake Alarm" to their liking. These include what time the user would like to wake up, which days of the week the alarm should go off, and how many hours of sleep they need per night.

After initial setup, the "Bedtime" tab presents a graphical dial to allow users to adjust how much sleep they need per night.

Once configured, users will receive a bedtime reminder the night before alarms are set to go off. This can be customized with a prompt immediately at bedtime, or a range of times up to an hour before a user wants to be in bed.

By prompting a user for bedtime and also waking them up in the morning, the new Bedtime Alarm and Wake Alarm integrate with Apple's Health app, allowing for sleep tracking data. Within the Clock app is a quick link to the "Sleep Analysis" data logged in HealthKit.

The Clock app also offers a visual representation of the user's "Sleep History," challenging them to keep the bars aligned by going to bed and waking up at the same times every day.

Another noteworthy feature is a customizable "Wake Up Sound Volume" within the "Wake Alarm" options. Here, users can customize how loud their alarm is in the morning, separately from the iOS-wide alarm volume.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in June following Apple's announcement of iOS 10 at WWDC 2016. It has been updated and republished to coincide with the mobile operating system's public release. For more on iOS 10, see AppleInsider's ongoing Inside iOS 10.