If long-form YouTube videos are your bedtime ritual, a new “sleep timer” is made for you

Users who watch long-form YouTube videos to aid their sleep can take advantage of an experimental feature. Viewers who pay a monthly fee for access to the YouTube Premium tier can now enable a Sleep Timer that automatically pauses videos after a set period.

YouTube revealed its Sleep Timer on the page it uses to document current experimental features. Premium subscribers, who typically pay $13.99 per month to access YouTube’s paid tier, get the first look at novel ideas that may never become available to the rest of the YouTube community.

Users who have access to the Sleep Timer can find it in the settings menu while watching a video on either desktop or mobile. Different intervals are available: Users can automatically pause videos after 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or upon the completion of the clip.

Evidence suggests that there are plenty of YouTube viewers who could find a use for the Sleep Timer. A 2022 report revealed that playback speed increases — which are most commonly used on long-form videos like podcasts and Let’s Plays — peak around 11 p.m.

Some of the long-form videos used as sleep aids, such as soundscapes, provide ambient noise and don’t need to be paused by an automated timer. YouTube’s experimental feature seems most valuable in the world of podcasts, where listeners can now retain their spot in the playback even after they nod off.

YouTube’s attention to podcast listeners is no surprise, as the platform has recently rolled out a slew of features related to long-form audio uploads. A “Podcasts for You” provides personalized recommendations, and podcasts now have a prominent presence within YouTube’s music hub.

Even with all of those upgrades, podcast creators and fans have plenty of options, ranging from Spotify to TikTok. As noted by TechCrunch, both of those platforms already offer features that resemble YouTube’s Sleep Timer. The Google-owned hub has a chance to keep time with its competitors — if it eventually chooses to bring Sleep Timer out of the experimental phase.