How to Adjust Power and Sleep Settings in Windows?

Adjusting your Power and Sleep settings in Windows can help you manage energy consumption, extend battery life on laptops, and improve your computer’s performance. These settings allow you to control how your device behaves when it’s idle or inactive, whether you want it to sleep, shut down, or stay active.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of adjusting power and sleep settings in Windows 10 and Windows 11, helping you customize your system to meet your preferences and needs.

What Are Power and Sleep Settings?

The Power and Sleep settings in Windows allow you to configure how your computer behaves when it’s not in use. You can control:

• Sleep mode: This saves energy by putting your PC into a low-power state after a period of inactivity.
• Screen timeout: This adjusts how long your screen stays on before it turns off automatically.
• Screen brightness: You can change the brightness for battery or plugged-in modes.
• Power plan: You can choose between preset power plans that balance performance and power consumption.

Properly configuring these settings is especially important for laptops, as adjusting the settings can help conserve battery life.

How to Access Power and Sleep Settings in Windows 10 and 11

Method 1: Using the Settings App (Windows 10 and 11)

1. Press the Windows + I keys to open the Settings app.
2. In the Settings window, click on System.
3. From the left sidebar, select Power & sleep.

This is where you can adjust both power and sleep settings, including when the screen turns off and when the computer goes into sleep mode.

Method 2: Right-click the Start Menu (Windows 10)

1. Right-click on the Start button (Windows icon) at the bottom-left corner of your screen.
2. Select Power Options from the menu.
3. From the Power & Sleep section in the Control Panel, you can change your settings.

Method 3: Using the Control Panel (Windows 10)

1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search bar and select it from the search results.
2. Click on System and Security, and then select Power Options.
3. Under Power & Sleep Settings, you can adjust your settings or choose a different power plan.

Customizing Power and Sleep Settings in Windows 10

Adjust Screen Timeout

1. In the Power & Sleep section of Settings, look for the Screen settings.
2. Under When plugged in, turn off after and When on battery power, turn off after, choose how long your device should wait before turning off the screen. The available options are usually from 1 minute to 5 hours, or Never if you don’t want the screen to turn off automatically.

Adjust Sleep Settings

1. Below the Screen settings, you’ll see Sleep options.
2. Under When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after and When on battery power, PC goes to sleep after, choose the time period for the PC to automatically go to sleep. You can set it to anywhere between 1 minute and 5 hours or choose Never to disable sleep entirely.

Change Power Plan

1. In the Power & Sleep section, click on Additional power settings (this link will open the Control Panel).
2. Select one of the following Power Plans:
   • Balanced: Recommended for most users, balances performance and energy usage.
   • Power Saver: Reduces power usage, which is ideal for laptops when you want to save battery life.
   • High Performance: Increases system performance at the cost of higher energy usage.
3. To customize your selected power plan, click on Change plan settings next to the plan you’ve chosen. You can modify the time settings for turning off the display or putting the computer to sleep.

Create a Custom Power Plan

1. In the Power Options menu (Control Panel), click on Create a power plan on the left side.
2. Choose a base plan (Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance) and give it a name.
3. Set the desired settings for turning off the screen and sleep times, and then click Create.

Customizing Power and Sleep Settings in Windows 11

Adjust Screen Timeout

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows + I.
2. Click on System and then select Power from the options on the left.
3. Under Screen and sleep, you’ll find options for When plugged in, turn off after and When on battery power, turn off after. Set the time before the screen turns off automatically, or select Never if you prefer to keep the screen on at all times.

Adjust Sleep Settings

1. In the Power settings, under Screen and sleep, you can also adjust the settings for When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after and When on battery power, PC goes to sleep after.
2. Choose the time limit for when your PC should go to sleep. You can set it to Never, or pick a time between 1 minute and 5 hours.

Change Power Plan

1. Scroll down to the Related settings section and click on Additional power settings.
2. This will open the Power Options menu, where you can select a different power plan. You can choose between Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance plans.
3. Click on Change plan settings next to the selected plan to adjust the settings for the display and sleep behavior.

Create a Custom Power Plan

1. In the Power Options menu, click on Create a power plan on the left side of the window.
2. Choose your base plan (Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance), give it a name, and customize the settings for screen timeout and sleep behavior.

Advanced Power Settings

If you need more granular control over power settings, you can adjust Advanced power settings in both Windows 10 and Windows 11:

1. In Power Options, click on Change plan settings next to the power plan you want to customize.
2. Select Change advanced power settings.
3. A new window will pop up where you can expand different options like:
   • Hard disk: Control when the hard drive is allowed to turn off.
   • Sleep: Modify deep sleep settings, hybrid sleep, and hibernation behavior.
   • Display: Adjust settings for screen brightness and dimming.
   • USB settings: Turn off USB selective suspend to save power.
4. After making the changes, click Apply and then OK.

Conclusion

Adjusting your Power and Sleep settings can help you optimize your system for performance or battery conservation, depending on your needs. Whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you have a range of options for controlling screen timeouts, sleep settings, and power plans.

By customizing these settings, you can ensure that your computer runs as efficiently as possible, whether you’re on a laptop trying to save battery or on a desktop looking for performance optimization. Regularly reviewing these settings will help you maximize your device’s potential while keeping energy consumption in check.