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Read next: How long should a power nap be? 10, 20 or 90 minutesAll 8 timers

20 minute timer

Twenty minutes is the number behind two good habits: the power nap that stops before deep sleep, and the eye rule for anyone who spends the day at a screen.

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The short answer

Twenty minutes is the top of the range usually given for a power nap, long enough to rest and short enough to wake without grogginess. It is also the interval in the 20-20-20 rule from the American Academy of Ophthalmology: every twenty minutes at a screen, look at something twenty feet away for twenty seconds.

How to use it

Three steps to a timer on the wall

  1. Step 1: Choose a time

    Pick a preset or set your own. The timer remembers what you used last on this device.

  2. Step 2: Press start

    Start the timer, then press F or the fullscreen button to fill the screen.

  3. Step 3: Run the room

    Space pauses, the up arrow adds a minute, R resets. Fullscreen shows the timer alone, with no ads and no navigation.

Running it well

Four things worth knowing

  • Set the nap a few minutes long

    The twenty minutes are for sleep, and most people take a few minutes to drift off. Setting 25 leaves room for that without sliding into deep sleep.

  • Use the bell that keeps ringing

    Choose "Loud bell, until stopped" for a nap. It rings every three seconds until you tap the screen or press a key, and gives up after two minutes.

  • The eye rule, twice

    For the 20-20-20 rule, run 20 minutes, then tap the 20 sec preset and look out of a window until it chimes. For a hands-free version, the interval timer can alternate twenty minutes and twenty seconds.

  • Quiet reading needs no sound

    For twenty minutes of silent reading in a class, turn sound off and let the colour change and zero be the signal.

In the room

Built to be read from the back row

A timer that only works on the person running it is not doing the job. The digits scale to the screen, the colour changes before the end, and fullscreen shows nothing else at all.

A teacher presenting to a classroom of students
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Photo by Quilia on Unsplash

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Ads pay for this page, and they stay on this page. The moment the timer goes fullscreen there is nothing on screen but the time — no banners, no navigation, no surprises in front of a room.

  • Fullscreen shows the timer alone
  • Ad sounds can never clash with the alarm
  • Saved times stay on your device — no account
  • Works with an ad blocker, and offline once loaded
FAQ

Questions people ask

Anything we've missed?

Tell us

How long should a power nap be?

Ten to twenty minutes is the range usually recommended. Longer naps reach deep sleep, and waking from it leaves most people groggy for a while.

What is the 20-20-20 rule?

Every twenty minutes of screen use, look at something about twenty feet (six metres) away for twenty seconds. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends it to ease eye strain.

Will the alarm wake me if my laptop is in another tab?

Yes. The alarm is scheduled on the audio clock when you press Start, so a background tab does not delay it. Keep the volume up and the lid open.

Can I make it repeat every twenty minutes?

This countdown stops at zero. The interval timer repeats a work and rest pattern, such as twenty minutes and twenty seconds, for as many rounds as you set.

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