Doomscrolling at night isn't a character flaw. You're tired, your willpower is spent, and the feed never runs out. "Just five more minutes" is a decision you make at your weakest point of the day, again and again.
The fix is to decide earlier, while you still can, and let the phone enforce it later.
Why night scrolling is so sticky
- Revenge bedtime procrastination: after a day that wasn't yours, scrolling feels like the only free time left.
- No natural end: feeds are infinite, so there's no moment where you're "done".
- Phone in bed: if it's within reach, it gets picked up.
Step 1: Pick a cut-off time and make it visible
Choose the time scrolling ends, say 22:30, and give the hour before sleep a job: reading, a shower, tomorrow's plan. A cut-off with nothing after it just turns into more scrolling.
Step 2: Use Sleep Focus (built in)
- Open Settings → Focus → Sleep.
- Set a schedule and choose which people and apps can notify you.
- Turn on Dim Lock Screen and pick a calm Home Screen page with no social apps.
Sleep Focus quiets notifications, but you can still open any app. It reduces the pull; it doesn't stop the scroll.
Step 3: Block the apps on a schedule
This is the step that actually ends it. With ARCO, a night window blocks only the apps that keep you up:
- In ARCO, pick the apps under Settings → Apps to block.
- Add a Blocked Hours window: No screens in bed, 22:30–7:00, every day.
- Choose no breaks if you know you'll negotiate with yourself.
Opening a blocked app shows a short pause screen instead of the feed. Messages, calls and alarms keep working.
Step 4: Give the morning a start
Scrolling late often comes from dreading tomorrow. Spend two minutes planning tomorrow the night before and set a wake-up time you'll keep. A known first hour makes it easier to stop tonight.