iMac sleep mode vs shutdown preference

It appears you're going to get a lot of opinions.

I never shut down any of my Macs. Most of them are up 24/7/365 using backup power supplies and generators, because that's what my requirements happen to be. They sleep according to the default Energy Saver settings and wake when needed. They get restarted with software updates, but that's it.

Do you routinely shut down your iPhone? Or Apple Watch? Same answer.

Macs work best when they are ignored.

Not all, but some setups have a problem with auto and manual computer sleep mode.

Personally I have used the following Energy and Lock Screen settings for years.

I leave my Mac's on 24-7 and only allow the displays to turn off after 10 minutes.

I only restart maybe once a month and when required by a macOS update.

The only time I Shutdown, is for lighting ⚡️or when I'm away for a week.

I'm old school and turn my iMac off at night. That clears system and application temporary and swap caches, which if get damaged/corrupted can interfere with normal operations.

I've been doting that since the first Mac was released in 1984 and never had a problem.

But, if you don't want to shut down each night and have all SSDs in and connected to your iMac don't sleep but do what rkaufmann87 recommends.

Neither, do not use sleep as it is unstable. Simply put the display to turn off (check Energy Saver settings) after the amount of time you prefer.

You should only restart the computer about 1x per week or so.

I always let mine sleep (overnight and between uses during the day). Measuring with a KillAWatt meter it shows 0.00 amps when sleeping so the power usage isn't a factor for me. I restart it occasionally somewhere between weekly and monthly.

+1