Reading before going to bed is very beneficial for health because it allows you to relieve the stress that you accumulate during the day, it is an excellent mental exercise, it reduces the risk of suffering from Alzheimer's and even helps you increase your vocabulary through a magical journey through stories full of adventures and characters interesting.
Books are great tools for learning new things and are also great for promoting sleep hygiene. Do you want to know more about this fascinating topic? In this Psychology-Online article we will talk about the benefits of reading before bed so that you discover all the positive aspects that the habit of reading when you go to bed will give you.
Index
- Relieve the stress
- Helps to fall asleep faster
- Increase empathy
- Promotes long-term cognitive development
- It enhances sleep quality
- Reduce your exposure to “blue light”
- Improves creativity and concentration
- Enrich your vocabulary
Relieve the stress.
According to data from the Foundation
To achieve this effect you should choose a calm reading that helps you relax. For example, a book on emotional well-being, a novel that you find interesting, or some educational text to enhance one of your skills.
A reading session of about 30 minutes will allow you to stop thinking about your current situation and also It serves to take your mind away from the accelerated planning of all the pending tasks that you must attend to during the day. following. If you need it, in this article we explain other ways to combat stress.
Helps to fall asleep faster.
Another of the benefits of reading before bed is also that helps lower cortisol levels in the brain, which accelerates the relaxation of your mind and, therefore, allows you to fall asleep more easily. For this reason, reading before bed is undoubtedly an excellent strategy for people who suffer from insomnia or anxiety.
The result will be even better if you choose a book that is a bit boring since you will fall asleep faster and with your mind free of stressful thoughts. In this article you will find more information about How to lower cortisol.
Increase empathy.
Do you want to know another of the benefits of reading before bed? Read helps us change perspective from being focused on our issues to put ourselves in the place of the characters in the story we are reading. In this way, we begin to think about their problems and experience empathy by connecting with your emotions.
For the effects to be more positive, it is necessary select books that raise healthy emotions such as love, happiness, joy, solidarity, among others, since that way you will feel more relaxed.
Enhances long-term cognitive development.
The reading habit generates effects on brain elasticity, which leads to the formation of a more critical thinking and in the capacity for analysis in situations of daily life. By understanding the stories you read, the brain neurons are able to expand and rearrange themselves. This process is called neuroplasticity and allows you to expand your cognitive abilities in the long term.
In short, quoting the American businessman Warren Buffet: «The more you read, the smarter you get».
It enhances sleep quality.
Reading at night is a great strategy to maintain proper sleep hygiene. In fact, you will notice that when reading your eyes will be more tired and you will fall asleep faster than usual. But not only that, but when you are asleep rest will be more pleasant and you will wake up with higher energy levels.
In this sense, a study carried out in the United States published in the medical journal PubMed revealed that those who read before going to sleep stay asleep more calmly and reach the sleep phase faster REM[1].
Reduce your exposure to “blue light”
Reading on the screen of your mobile or tablet exposes the eyes and the brain to blue light, which will subliminally indicate that it is still daylight. This light can cause cognitive overstimulation that prevents you from falling asleep properly. Therefore, instead of browsing social networks or watching a series or movie on your computer or television, we recommend that you read a book that you like.
In the event that you decide to use a screen, it is best that you use some glasses with anti-glare protection that reduce the incidence of blue light.
Improves creativity and concentration.
As we have mentioned before, books broaden your thinking, take you into new worlds, and can also help you acquire new information. Therefore, reading a book at night before going to sleep will help you acquire different perspectives to see the world, increase your creativity and get new tools and resources to face your problems.
On the other hand, reading a book usually requires a higher level of concentration of at least 10 to 20 minutes per reading session. If we compare this with the 15 seconds it takes to see a fragment of a video on TikTok, you will be able to see more clearly than read it will improve your ability to concentrate and help you gain better focus for the rest of your daily activities.
Enrich your vocabulary.
It is not necessary to read dictionaries or encyclopedias to enrich your vocabulary, because even children's stories or fictional literature can be perfect for learning new words and expressionsIn addition, reading a paper book before bed reduces sleep latency, or the time it takes your brain to wind down and enter the drowsy or light sleep stage.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Benefits of reading before bed, we recommend that you enter our category of meditation and relaxation.
References
- Finucane, E and others (2021). Does reading a book in bed make a difference to sleep compared to not reading a book in bed? The people's trial—an online, pragmatic, randomized trial. PubMed, 2021; 22: 873. Available in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8740874/
Bibliography
- Kerkhof GA. Epidemiology of sleep and sleep disorders in the Netherlands. Med sleep 2017; 30 :229 – 239. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2016.09.015. Available in: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28215254/
- Blunden S, Lushington K, Lorenzen B, et al. Are sleep problems little recognized in general practice? Arch Dis Child. 2004; 89 :708 – 712. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.027011. Available in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15269066/
