I kept losing the race against my own nap timer. So I fixed it.
An Apple Watch app that detects when you’ve actually fallen asleep — using your heart rate and wrist movement — and starts the timer then. A gentle buzz wakes you up. No pressure, no racing the clock.
Nap timers give you a deadline.
Deadlines keep you awake.
You set a 10-minute timer. Now the clock is running, and somewhere in the back of your head a voice starts counting: better fall asleep fast, you’re wasting your nap. Heart rate up. Eyes open. Timer goes off. No nap.
“I built this app for myself. Every time I set a 10-minute timer for a power nap, I felt the pressure to fall asleep before it ran out — and ended up not sleeping at all. So I made a timer that doesn’t start until I’m actually asleep.”
The timer starts when you fall asleep
No deadline. No pressure. Just close your eyes.
Pick a nap length
10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes. That’s the whole setup. Lie down, close your eyes — no rush.
Your watch waits for you
It quietly tracks your heart rate and wrist movement. When you’re truly relaxed and drifting off, the timer starts — not a second before.
Wake up gently
A soft vibration on your wrist, or an alarm sound if you prefer. You get the full nap you asked for, every time.
Small screen, small app, one job
Fair questions
What if I never fall asleep?
There’s a sleep-detection timeout (15 minutes by default, adjustable). If you’re still awake after that, the timer starts anyway — so you’ll never lie there forever. But honestly: without the deadline, you’ll probably fall asleep.
How does it know I’m asleep?
It watches two things from your wrist: your heart rate trending down and your wrist going still. When both say “relaxed”, it marks you asleep and starts counting. You can see the exact detection moment afterwards in Sleep Analysis.
Will the alarm wake up the person next to me?
Not if you don’t want it to. The default wake-up is a gentle vibration on your wrist only — completely silent. You can switch to an alarm sound if you’re a deep sleeper.
Do I need my iPhone nearby?
No. The whole app runs on the watch itself. Phone in the other room, on a plane, wherever.
What happens to my heart-rate data?
It stays on your watch. There’s no account, no server, and nothing leaves your wrist. I’m one developer — I don’t want your data, I want you to nap.
Why does my nap show up as a workout?
To catch the exact moment you drift off, the app watches your heart rate for the little dip as you fall asleep. On Apple Watch, the only way to read heart rate continuously — screen off, wrist down — is a background workout session. The side effect: each nap shows up in Health and Fitness as a short “Mind & Body” workout. Totally harmless — and you can delete the entries from the Health app anytime.
Which Apple Watch do I need?
Any watch that runs a recent version of watchOS works. If it can track your heart rate, it can run You Need a Nap.