REMINDERS · PLAIN ANSWERS
Can my iPhone remind me to stand up?
Yes, but not on its own: the stand reminder people know is an Apple Watch feature, and an iPhone without a watch has no built-in equivalent. You can set a repeating reminder in Apple’s Reminders app, or use an app such as Pause, which reminds you every 45, 60 or 90 minutes during the working days and hours you choose and then guides a short break when you tap it.
By Pause · KCO Partners LLC · Published September 16, 2026
Part of Workplace stretching, the Pause workplace stretching series.
The do-it-yourself option
A repeating reminder in the Reminders app, or a few alarms in the Clock app, will nudge you to get up. They are free and already on your phone. What they do not know is your working day, so you set them up and switch them off yourself, and they leave the break itself to you.
What a work-break app adds
In Pause you choose working days, a start and end time and an interval. The first reminder comes one interval after you start, and none arrive outside those hours. Tapping the reminder offers “Start my break”, which opens a short guided routine or an easy walk, or “Snooze 10 minutes” if the moment is wrong.
Quiet by design
Pause reminders are delivered as passive notifications: they do not play a sound, do not break through a Focus mode and never set a badge. Guidance from the CDC encourages short movement breaks through the workday, and a quiet reminder is simply a way to remember them.
Common questions
Does Pause work on Apple Watch?
Pause is an iPhone app for iOS 17 or later and does not have its own Apple Watch app.
Can I choose how often it reminds me?
Yes. Pause offers a 45, 60 or 90-minute interval inside the working hours you set.
Is the reminder free?
Reminder setup is part of Pause Plus. Your first completed break is free without an account, so you can try a guided break before deciding.
Background: CDC workplace physical activity break guide · HSE display screen equipment breaks. These organisations do not endorse Pause. Product details describe Pause’s current iPhone build. These pages are general wellness information, not medical advice, and Pause’s routines have not been clinically validated.