RestAlert Support

Smart alerts about your sleep debt and workload, for residents, nurses and other shift workers on iPhone and Apple Watch.

Need help or have a suggestion?
Email srivparam17@gmail.com. I usually reply within a few days. Include your iPhone and watchOS versions if something isn't working.

Getting started

  1. Allow Apple Health access when RestAlert asks, so it can read the sleep your Apple Watch records.
  2. Turn on sleep tracking on your watch: in the Health app, go to Browse → Sleep and set up a Sleep schedule.
  3. Track your shifts from the Shifts tab or your Apple Watch. Forgot one? Add it under "Log a past shift."
  4. Check the Recovery tab for your 14-day sleep debt and your workload score.
  5. Turn on alerts in Settings to hear about long shifts, short turnarounds, weekly hour limits and recovery sleep.
  6. Add the complication: press and hold your watch face, tap Edit, and choose RestAlert.

Common questions

Do I need an Apple Watch?

No. The iPhone app works on its own, and nothing in it requires a paired watch. Log each sleep with the hour buttons on the Log tab, or let another sleep tracker that saves to Apple Health fill it in. Your workload score, alerts and shift tracking work the same. An Apple Watch adds automatic sleep tracking, sleep stages, the sleep timer and the watch-face complication.

My sleep debt shows 0 or "no data."

Check that RestAlert can read sleep: open Settings → Health → Data Access & Devices → RestAlert and turn on Sleep. Make sure you wore your watch to bed with a Sleep schedule set. For daytime or post-call sleep, use the watch's "Going to sleep" timer, or tap your hours on the Log tab.

How is sleep debt calculated?

Each day you sleep less than your target (8 hours by default, adjustable in Settings), the difference is added to your debt, over the last 14 days. One long sleep pays back at most 2 hours, because real recovery takes several nights.

What does the workload score mean?

It's a 0–100 estimate of how hard your schedule has been. It combines your hours over the last 7 days, rest between shifts, days in a row without a day off, long shifts, and how long your current shift has run. Below 30 is sustainable, 30–59 is strained, and 60 or more is overloaded.

I'm not a resident. Do the 80-hour rules apply to me?

No. In Settings, choose "General shift work" for nurse, EMS and other shift schedules, and set your own weekly hour limit.

My watch isn't showing my shifts or workload.

Open RestAlert on your iPhone once, with your watch nearby and Bluetooth on. Shifts live on your iPhone and sync to the watch from there. Starting or ending a shift on the watch syncs back the next time your phone is in range.

I'm not getting alerts.

Check that alerts are on in RestAlert → Settings, and that notifications are allowed in iPhone Settings → Notifications → RestAlert. Alerts appear on your Apple Watch when your iPhone is locked.

Where is my data stored?

Only on your iPhone and Apple Watch. RestAlert has no accounts and no servers, and it never sends your data anywhere. See the privacy policy.

How do I delete my data?

Delete RestAlert from your iPhone and Apple Watch. Sleep the app saved to Apple Health can be deleted in the Health app.

RestAlert isn't a medical device. Its sleep debt and workload scores are estimates to help you notice patterns, and they don't diagnose fatigue or any condition. If you're worried about your health or your safety at work, talk to a clinician or your program.