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How To Prevent Your Mac Computer From Automatically Sleeping

Having your Mac automatically go to sleep can be frustrating, especially if you are in the middle of an important task. Fortunately, there are several ways to prevent your Mac from sleeping so you can keep working uninterrupted. In this article, we will go over the various methods you can use to stop your Mac from sleeping.

Adjust the Energy Saver Settings

The easiest way to stop your Mac from sleeping is to adjust the Energy Saver settings. Here’s how:

For Laptops

  1. Click the Apple menu and select “System Preferences”
  2. Click “Battery”
  3. Uncheck the box next to “Put hard disks to sleep when possible”
  4. Drag the “Turn display off after” slider to “Never”
  5. Check the box next to “Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off”

For Desktops

  1. Click the Apple menu and select “System Preferences”
  2. Click “Energy Saver”
  3. Drag the “Turn display off after” slider to “Never”
  4. Check the box next to “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off”

This will prevent both the display and computer from sleeping automatically. You can also schedule specific sleep and wake times if needed.

Use Terminal to Keep Awake

You can use the Terminal app to keep your Mac awake with the caffeinate command.

To use it:

  1. Open the Terminal app (located in Applications > Utilities)
  2. Type in caffeinate and hit enter

This will prevent your Mac from sleeping until you quit Terminal.

You can also specify a time period to keep your Mac awake (in seconds) by using the -t flag, like so:

caffeinate -t 3600

This will keep your Mac awake for 1 hour before allowing it to sleep.

Use Third-Party Apps

There are also third-party apps you can download to prevent sleeping:

  • Amphetamine – Allows you to easily toggle sleep prevention and set timers/triggers
  • Caffeinated – Uses menu bar icon to quickly turn on/off sleep prevention
  • Owly – Simple menubar app to keep display awake and prevent sleep

These apps offer added convenience and flexibility over the built-in methods. Most are free or cheap to download.

Keep Awake While Lid is Closed

If you want to keep your Mac laptop awake while the lid is closed, connect it to an external display and make sure Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off is checked in System Preferences.

You’ll also need to make sure Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off is selected if using a laptop.

Some third party apps like Amphetamine also have this capability specifically.

Tips and Warnings

  • Make sure your Mac is connected to a power source before disabling sleep. This will prevent battery drain.
  • Don’t keep your Mac awake with the lid closed for too long, as it could overheat.
  • Use activity monitors to check CPU temperature if keeping the computer awake for extended periods.
  • Keep your Mac updated and restart regularly to clear memory and prevent potential crashes.
  • If you don’t need your Mac to stay awake, keep the default Energy Saver settings to save power and prevent overheating.

Conclusion

Preventing your Mac from going to sleep automatically gives you greater flexibility and productivity. By adjusting Energy Saver settings, using Terminal commands, or downloading third-party apps, you can disable sleep and keep working without interruptions. Just make sure to follow safety tips, like monitoring CPU temperature, to prevent potential device damage.

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