PillowbirdDownload
An owl with sleepy, half-open eyes rests against a pillow on a cozy sofa, under the warm light of a bedside lamp.The owl has closed its eyes and sleeps against the pillow, the lamp still glowing softly beside it.Lights out: the owl sleeps curled into the pillow in the dark room, lit only by a small candle on the shelf.Morning: daylight fills the room and the owl sits up on the pillow, wide awake and rested.

Put tomorrow down so you can fall asleep tonight.

For racing thoughts at night, Pillowbird is a bedtime brain dump for iPhone. Tell the owl what's keeping you up. It keeps every thought under the pillow till morning, then helps you wind down.

Download Pillowbird on the App StoreYour first 3 nights are free. No account, no card.

Why a brain dump before bed helps

Racing thoughts at night are the mind rehearsing tomorrow.

It holds on so nothing gets forgotten: the email, the bill, the thing someone said. That is how overthinking at night goes in circles. Once each thought is written down and kept somewhere safe, it can let go.

In a small sleep-lab study at Baylor University, people who spent five minutes before lights out writing a to-do list for the coming days fell asleep in about 15 minutes, against about 25 for people who wrote about what they had already done. Read a summary of the study, or turn it into a bedtime plan with our guide to stopping racing thoughts at night.

10:14 pm

Say it out loud. The owl writes it down.

Talk the way you would to a friend, in any order. Each thought lands on its own paper note. Rather type? You can.

Pillowbird listening: the words appear as they are said, with 3 notes so far.

10:17 pm

Every thought finds its place.

  • For the morningComes back tomorrow, the first thing on top.Send Linh the proposal, before ten
  • Let it restA worry, set down. It isn't handed back.The client hated the deck. Martin didn't say a word after slide six.
  • Keep for laterAn idea, with no date and no reminder.A smaller package, just the audit

10:19 pm

Then the notes go under the pillow.

One tap and they fly over the owl and slip out of sight. The owl closes its eyes, and a racing mind has nothing left to hold.

10:22 pm to 10:45 pm

Breathe with the owl, and the lamp goes off.

Six wind-downs from 2 to 30 minutes, like The very long train timetable or The lamp, the rain. They play offline, end softly, and the screen dims with you.

Breathe with the owl: rings that follow the breath, with Pause and Dim screen.

6:56 am

In the morning, what you kept is waiting.

One tap for how rested you feel, then your list, with the first thing on top. The worries stay where you left them.

Wednesday morning: three kept for you, with Send Linh the proposal marked as the first thing.

A sleep app, not a to-do app.

  • Nothing to plan. No priorities, schedules or tasks to tick off. Tomorrow's things are only parked so you can let go.
  • Nothing to chase. No sleep tracking, no sleep scores, no sleep debt, no streaks. A missed night costs nothing.
  • Not therapy. No diagnosis and no chat. A worry is kept in your own words, and that's all.
  • Your mornings, in plain words. Over time: "On nights you unloaded, you woke rested 4 of 5 times." Your own answers, never a sleep measurement.
  • Part of your health picture. If you choose, finished wind-downs count as Mindful Minutes in Apple Health.

Your nights stay yours.

  • No account. Nothing to sign up for.
  • Your voice stays on the iPhone. It becomes words on the phone itself.
  • Sorted on the phone on iPhones with Apple Intelligence. Cloud sorting only if you turn it on, and then only the text. Or sort by hand.
  • Usage counts are off unless you turn them on, and never include your words.

Your notes stay readable without a subscription. For iPhone with iOS 18 or later.

Download Pillowbird on the App Store

Questions, answered.

What is a brain dump before bed?
Writing or saying everything on your mind before you sleep, so your mind doesn't have to keep holding it. In Pillowbird you say it out loud, each thought lands on its own note, and the notes go under the pillow till morning.
Is Pillowbird a sleep tracker?
No. There is no sleep tracking, no sleep score and no streak to keep. In the morning it asks one thing, how rested you feel, and over time shows your own answers in plain words.
Will it help me fall asleep?
Pillowbird is a bedtime ritual, not a treatment. It is built on a simple idea from a small sleep-lab study: people who wrote down what they had to do next fell asleep faster. If trouble sleeping goes on for weeks, talk to a doctor.
Is my voice uploaded?
No. Your voice becomes words on the iPhone itself. On iPhones with Apple Intelligence the notes are sorted on the phone too. Cloud sorting is off unless you turn it on, and then only the text is sent. You can also sort by hand.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Saying what is on your mind, your notes, the wind-downs and the morning list all work without internet.
How much does Pillowbird cost?
Your first 3 nights are free, with no account and no card. After that it is $5.99 a month, $39.99 a year, or $99.99 once for Lifetime Local, which never renews. Your notes stay readable without a subscription.