Reading Before Bed Can Be The Secret To The Getting Quality Sleep

Insomnia affects as many as 35 percent of adults. If you have ever experienced problems getting to sleep, staying asleep through the night, and sleeping as long as you would like, then you have probably experienced this sleep disorder. There are many reasons why people suffer from insomnia, but the most common reasons include:

• Poor sleep habits

• Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression

• Illness or pain

• Medication

• Sleep disorder such as sleep apnea

Many adults have experienced short-term insomnia where they might not be able to get the same sleep quality over a brief period of time. Others might experience chronic insomnia that extends past three months. Regardless of which one you might suffer from, there are some studies that suggest reading before bed can actually help you get a good night’s sleep.

Reading Helps You Relax

Stress and anxiety are two of the main reasons why people suffer from insomnia. Despite your best efforts, stress builds up throughout the day. By the time you are ready to sleep, your mind is racing thinking about all the things you need to do tomorrow, re-running all the mistakes you made at work, or just thinking about worst case scenarios that might happen. Unfortunately, the more tired you are, the more your mind races! This is because your brain struggles to focus when you’re tired, which means it’s often jumping between thoughts. If this sounds like you, then reading might be the key to getting your brain to quiet down.

By immersing yourself in a good book, you are able to focus on a single thing (the book), which also helps take your mind off your current situation. Plus, reading also pulls you away from electronic devices and the news, which can also help alleviate stress. Some studies have shown that just reading for six minutes can reduce stress by up to 68 percent!

With that said, you should avoid books that you know will keep you up at night. Maybe that means a horror book or simply a genre you know you cannot put down. Save these for daytime reading and instead opt for books that you enjoy but might not be able to read for long amounts of time.

Shut Off The Screen

Ever since smartphones and tablets have become staples in people’s households, rates of insomnia have increased. Coincidence? Not at all. Like your TV, cellphones and tablets emit a bright, blue light which can negatively affect your circadian rhythm. Essentially, the blue light mimics sunlight and makes your body think that it is still day time. Because of this, your body then does not produce melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle. This makes it difficult for you to fall asleep. If that’s not enough, blue light can also cause damage to your retinas.

Of course, it’s not just the blue light that keeps you up. Your phone and/or tablet likely has dozens of apps that try to grab your attention. Maybe you received an email from work or saw a post that you didn’t agree with. It might seem small, but every time you see things like this it will be more difficult to relax and sleep. Even if you don’t see upsetting content, social media apps and mobile games are meant to keep you engaged and alert.

By reading before bed, you are able to give your eyes a break from the screen. Not only does it help keep your eyes healthy, it also gives your body time to get into sleep mode. For best results, start reading an hour before you want to go to bed to help your body transition. Make reading a part of your sleep routine and you’ll start feeling drowsy in no time.

Books Give You Great Dreams

When you’re reading a book, you are no longer John or Jane Doe. You are the hero fighting against the evil wizards or the star-crossed hero/heroine. Reading not only fuels your imagination, it also strengthens your brain. The more you read, the stronger your neural connections.

Is it any surprise then that reading also helps improve your dreams? Sleep, after all, is the time when your brain processes information throughout the day. This includes any books you’ve read. In your dreams, you can become the hero of the story and experience the story through your own point of view. If you are a writer, your dreams can then inspire you to create your own world and characters! Of course, choose the book you read wisely as horror books may lead to nightmares.

It Is A Part Of A Daily Routine

Creating a sleep routine is the first and most important step when it comes to improving your overall sleep hygiene. As the name suggests, a sleep routine requires you to stick to a sleep schedule. That means going to bed and waking up at the same time. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle.

However, it’s not just about going to bed and waking up at the same time. Your body loves a routine. So if you are having issues sleeping, it’s important to start sending cues to your body that it is time to sleep. If you consistently read a book an hour before bed, your body will automatically start associating reading with bed time. As well, since you are only reading books that you enjoy, scheduling your reading at a specific time will also help your body relax as you will be anticipating an activity you like. All of this can help contribute to a better sleep quality.

It Can Increase Your Knowledge

Being a bookworm might have been seen as a bad thing when you were a kid, but reading has many benefits. The very act of reading can help you out in almost every aspect of your life including increasing your overall knowledge. Studies find that those who read have higher grades in school, higher intelligence, and general knowledge than those who do not. It also might help keep you sharper as you age. 

As well, reading helps improve your vocabulary more than talking or teaching. Reading forces you to look at a work you might not have seen or heard and either figure it out based on context clues or look it up in the dictionary. A larger vocabulary isn’t just for writers. It can also help you express yourself better during conversations, understand people, and ultimately have a better grasp of the world around you. Reading also helps improve your general knowledge and allows you to spot patterns faster, which improves your overall analytical abilities.

Be A Role Model

If you have children, you know already that your actions speak louder than words. If you want children who love reading, then you need to set an example and read yourself. When your children see you consistently settling down to read a good book at the end of the day they will follow your example. As you’ve already seen, reading can help increase knowledge, and that goes doubly so for children whose brains are still forming important neural connections.

Of course, reading is also a great way to connect with your children. You can talk together about the books you have read or, if they are young, you can read to them thus giving you plenty of one on one time. As they get older, you can start reading the same books and then discussing your thoughts and predictions. It’s a great way to bond and, again, it helps build up your and your children’s overall knowledge and analytical skills.

Helps You Feel For Others

Reading increases your ability to empathize as you are often exploring the inner lives of the characters on the page. You get to see what life is like through a completely different point of view. Maybe you don’t agree with the character’s belief system, but when done well you will at least be able to understand how and why they came to it and perhaps their journey will take them down a road where they change their views. Even if they don’t change that one aspect, you at least will be able to understand why.

By building empathy for others through books, it naturally bleeds over to real life. After all, everyone has their own stories and backgrounds. While you’re not living in a tidy book, the people around you are just as complicated (if not more so) than those you find in your books. If you are able to connect with characters who have such differing beliefs and cultures in books, it should be a bit easier to do so with people in your actual life.

Create Your Own World

To make your reading experience as enjoyable as possible, you’ll want to create your own space. If you have the space, set aside an entire room specifically for reading and books. Organize your library in a way that makes sense to you whether that’s by title, author, genre, or a combination. Don’t skimp on the lighting and furniture either. You’ll want to have comfortable seating so that you can relax and really immerse yourself in the book. There’s nothing worse than having to adjust multiple times because your back or neck starts hurting. For lighting, make sure it’s bright enough where you don’t have to strain your eyes to read. If you like a darker room, invest in reading lights you can attach to the desk or table where you will be reading. More importantly, make sure to keep some things out of the reading room like your phone or tablet! The area should be dedicated to reading only!

Even if you don’t have a full room you can still cordon off parts of a room for reading. You should choose a place that isn’t highly trafficked as you want as few distractions as possible. Maybe that means you have to set aside a small area in your bedroom or even closet (if you have a big one). It’s important to have some ‘transition’ between the room and your reading space so that your mind can mentally switch from normal mode to reading mode.

Setting aside your own reading space does two things: it allows you to focus solely on your reading and it also acts as yet another trigger to your mind that you are preparing for relaxation and sleep. Your reading space is a place where you leave behind your anxiety and stress and focus solely on whatever book you are reading.  

Reading Has Many Benefits To Overall Health Including Quality Sleep

Sadly, reading has been on the decline with the average adult aged 20-34 spending only 0.11 hours reading daily. This amounts to less than seven minutes per day! Still, most adults have stated that they have read at least one book per year. These shorter reading times may be due to people reading on-the-go more than at home thanks to the invention of eReaders, tablets, and smartphones.

Even if you can only manage six minutes per day, reading has significant benefits including reducing stress, improving memory and concentration, expanding your vocabulary and more. When combined with a consistent sleep routine, it can also help you fall asleep faster and actually stay asleep. Of course, you’ll need to keep the habit up, but once you do you’ll wonder why you never set aside time for reading before!

Jessica Lauren is Founder, contributing Author and Owner of Citrus Sleep. Citrus Sleep is an online publication that highlights brands, sleep products, women’s fashion, subscription services and ideas creating positive social change and promoting a healthy lifestyle. After spending nearly a decade working in PR and marketing for several brands and startups, Jessica knows what truly drives conversions, sold-out launches and guest posts.

Follow Jessica at @jessicalaurencs | Jessica Lauren

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