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Culture October 2, 2016
“Once upon a time” is a phrase ingrained in many women’s memories. As a child, how often did you fall asleep to images of adventure and romance as your parents’ soothing voices narrated every move of your favorite characters? Perhaps story time before bed was even your favorite part of the evening.
Unfortunately, however, the older people get, the busier their lifestyles become and the less reading they partake in. Nowadays, men and women are often “too tired,” “too busy” or “too lazy” to pick up a good book to read every night. Every time you cradle a book in your hands while lying in bed, the words blur as your eyes drift closed.
Regardless of how valid those excuses may be, reading before bed can still be just as satisfying as it was during your childhood. In fact, it can even help improve the quality of your life. Here are six reasons every modern woman – and man – should bring back the bedtime stories:
Reading literary fiction – with its character depth and slow, unfurling plot – challenges your brain to make sense of all the strange choices characters make. As a result, your brain gets better at understanding real-life characters, regardless of the world’s high degree of diversity. As proven by a New School of for Social Research study by Emanuele Costano and Ph.D. candidate David Kidd, reading literary fiction can improve your capacity for empathy.
Reading nonfiction can similarly open your mind to new situations, issues and cultures that you may not encounter in your day-to-day life. Whether you’re reading the news or cracking open Ta-Nehisi Coates’ newest National Book Award winner, you will certainly benefit from a few minutes of reading before bed.
Vocabulary used in literature differs greatly from the vocabulary we use during our daily interactions. Ann E. Cunningham, Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, conducted a study on developing a motivation to read in children.
In this study, Cunningham found that, “children came across 50% more new vocabulary in children’s books than they did on prime-time television or even when listening in on a conversation between college graduates.” So generally speaking, reading exposes you to more words than regular conversation. If you’ve ever dreamed of being even more intelligent and elegant than you already are, pick up a book and start learning!
If your bedtime reading happens to be study material, you reap double the benefits. According to a 2012 study conduced by Jessica Payne and Matthew Tucker, “when sleep shortly follows declarative task learning, it actually slows the subsequent rate of deterioration.” Essentially, studying before bed will help you retain what you learn longer. Whether you’re a student cramming for finals or a business woman reading over an important contact, everyone can benefit from a better memory.
It has been scientifically shown that reading improves mental wellness and, as a result, general health. A study from the University of Sussex showed that reading every day, even for an interval as short as six minutes, can decrease men and women’s stress level by a whopping 68 percent.
The effects of reading on people’s well-being are presently receiving a great deal of attention. In fact, general practitioners in Wales are now prescribing books to patients suffering from anxiety or depression. This new trend, called bibliotherapy, is already manifesting itself in a number of ways, including literature courses for prison inmates and reading circles for dementia patients.
As you’ve probably realized, in addition to promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety, reading before bed also contributes to a sound mind and a more satisfying sleep. While you’re immersing yourself in a world other than your own, reading decreases stress and eases sleep by nixing a lot of the stimuli and noise that keeps us awake. Unlike TV, reading has none of the flashing lights and sounds to keep your brain working long after you’ve clicked the “off” button.
When you make the decision to add reading to your bedtime routine, be careful how you do it. Reading on a backlit screen can negatively interfere with most of reading’s positive effects. Our smartphone and tablet screens often emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin and extends the sheep-counting process.
According to a 2014 Vox article by Susannah Locke, “At night, the iPad users also experienced a 50 percent drop in melatonin…Even more disturbing, their melatonin cycle shifted forward by an hour and a half, essentially creating self-imposed jet lag.”
Reading before bed can decrease your stress, better your memory, improve your compassion and understanding of others and broaden your comprehension of our diverse world. Ditch the iPad and curl up with a good book tonight—the benefits will write themselves.
