The following steps will guide you through the process of forcing Windows 10 applications to sleep:
- Click on the gear icon on the lower left side of the Start menu to access your computer’s settings.
- Click on the “Privacy” option in Settings.
- On the left side of the screen, scroll down until you find “Background Apps”. Select it.
- You will have two options:
- Click the on/off switch at the top to turn off all background apps
- Alternatively, you may select apps you do not frequently use and put them to sleep individually.
That’s all. Disabled programs will no longer run in the background. When you open them, they will still run normally, but when you aren’t, they will not affect your computer’s performance.