How to Set the Sleep Time on a Mac

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Putting your Mac in Sleep mode will save power while allowing you to quickly resume your work. You can set your Mac to enter Sleep mode automatically after a set amount of inactivity. You can also set a schedule for Sleep mode.

Quick Sleep Time Setting Steps

  1. Open System Preferences / System Settings .
  2. Click Energy Saver (click Show All at the top of your Settings if you don't see this).
  3. Select a power mode, if you're on a Macbook.
  4. Adjust the sliders to set how long your computer or display will sit before going to sleep.
  5. Check the Put hard disks to sleep when possible option.
  6. Click Schedule if you want to schedule a time for your computer to go to sleep and wake up.

Steps

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    [1]
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    If you don't see this, click the "Show All" button at the top of the menu. [2]
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    If you're using a laptop, you'll see "Battery" and "Power Adapter" modes. Each of these can have individual settings. [3]
    • Desktop users will not have multiple options because the computer will always be plugged into a power source. Instead, you will see both sliders on one screen.
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    This will depend on what Mac and what version of the OS you're using. [4] . If you're given the option, your computer will put itself into sleep mode after being inactive for this amount of time.
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    This will turn your display off once the display is inactive for the time you set. [5]
    • You cannot set the "Display sleep" slider for longer than the "Computer sleep" slider.
    • When your computer goes to sleep, your display will go to sleep as well.
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    This will put your hard disks to sleep if they're not in use, which can save you more power and increase their lifespan.
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    This will allow you to set times when your Mac automatically goes to sleep or wakes up.
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    This will enable you to set a time for your computer to wake itself up.
    • You can click the "Every Day" menu to set specific days for this to occur.
    • Set a time that you want this to occur on the specified days.
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    This will allow you to set a time that your computer will put itself to sleep or shut down on specified days.
    • Click the "Sleep" menu to switch to "Shut Down" or "Restart."
    • Click the "Every Day" menu to select which days you want this to occur.
    • Set the time that you want to shut down or put the computer to sleep on the specified days.
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    Power Nap allows your Mac to check for email, calendar, and iCloud updates while in Sleep mode. You can enable this separately for battery and power adapter use.
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      References

      1. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
      2. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
      3. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.
      4. ↑ http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/188682/sleep-timeout-missing-from-the-energy-saver-preferences
      5. ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 February 2021.

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