Sleep and light timing for people who work shifts.
allenjoshsamson99@gmail.com
Every message reaches the person who builds the app.
Bug reports, questions and feature requests are all welcome. If a plan looks wrong, send me the shift times and what it suggested — that is almost always enough to find it on the first reply.
Where does the plan come from?
From the shift times you enter, the amount of sleep you said you need, and your journey to work. Rota works backwards from the start of the shift and forwards from the end of it, and never places sleep before you could realistically be home or past the time you have to leave.
Why does it want me in bright light at the start of a night shift?
Light is the strongest signal your body clock has. Bright light early in a night shift helps you stay alert through it; darkness on the way home stops the morning sun undoing the sleep you are about to get. That is why Rota suggests sunglasses for the journey home and not for the journey in.
It planned a nap as well as a main sleep.
That happens when the gap between two shifts is too short for the sleep you need in one block. Rota splits it rather than quietly giving you less, and tells you it has.
Does it read my calendar or Apple Health?
No. Rota has no HealthKit entitlement and no calendar access, and asks for no system permissions at all. The only thing it knows about your working life is what you type in.
What is the sleep balance?
The running difference between the sleep your rota actually allows and the amount you told Rota you need, added up across the shifts you have booked. It is there to make a bad month visible before you are in the middle of it.
What does paying add?
The free app plans your next shift in full — sleep, light, caffeine cut-off and the warnings. Pro plans every shift you have booked rather than only the next one, builds a month from a repeating pattern, and shows the running sleep balance across the whole rota.
Rota Pro is $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and either begins with 7 days free. Nothing that is free today moves behind the paywall later.
To cancel, open Settings › your name › Subscriptions on your iPhone.
Cancelling at least 24 hours before the period ends stops the next charge. Billing
is handled entirely by Apple; refunds go through
reportaproblem.apple.com.
General guidance on sleep and light timing. Rota is not a medical device and does not diagnose or treat anything. If shift work is seriously affecting your health or your safety, please speak to a doctor or your occupational health service.