If you want a truly restful sleep, you need to calm your mind and body. Reading before bed is a great way to do that: settle into a comfy position, put on your favorite pajamas, and relax for an hour or two.
But wait—you won’t reap the benefits of reading before bed unless you do it right. In this article, we’ll talk you through whether reading before bed is a good idea and how you can create a customized, relaxing reading routine with just your phone.
Stress, sleep, and reading
Sleep is a natural phenomenon; we all do it, but we’re not entirely sure why or how it happens. The complicated neurological mechanisms behind sleep might be lost on us, but we know one thing: you can’t sleep if you’re stressed.
When you’re stressed, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, forcing your heart rate to quicken. If you’re really stressed you may even enter fight or flight mode, a physiological reaction that prepares you for a potential threat.
But in many cases, the threat is metaphorical, a tense reaction to day-to-day obligations. Work, family matters, and to-do lists can all stress us out, leaving us staring at the ceiling when we should be drifting off to the land of nod. So, what’s the solution?
Does reading before bed help you sleep?
Is reading before bed good for your sleep pattern?
Lots of people unwind from the stress of the day by reading before bed. It’s not an exact science, but there’s plenty of evidence that reading can lower stress levels and a few studies even suggest that it’s a great way to de-stress before bed.
4 benefits of reading before bed
The benefits of reading before bed are massive, ranging from relaxation to calming your brain.
improve sleep quality
A 2021 online randomized trial asked 496 participants to read a book in bed before sleeping and 496 participants to not read a book in bed before sleeping. Researchers measured the results after a week and found that 42% of the first group felt their sleep had improved. In contrast, only 28% of non-readers had better sleep.
This is by no means definitive evidence that reading improves sleep quality, but anecdotal evidence suggests that sleep quality is one of the biggest benefits of reading before bed.
lessen stress
To all you bibliophiles out there, it’ll come as no surprise that reading before bed lessens stress. There’s even research to back it up! One study looked at the immediate effects of yoga, humor, and reading on stress in health science students and found that a 30-minute session of each had similar effects in decreasing acute stress.
So, if yoga leaves you in a calm, meditative state, reading could do the same.
lessen insomnia
Insomnia can be a nightmare (no pun intended), and anyone with the condition knows how difficult it is to unwind at night.
Reading before bed is great for insomniacs because it decreases cognitive arousal; in other words, it ‘de-stimulates’ your brain, forcing you to relax.
One study states that worry is an important factor in insomnia and it assessed how effective reading before bed is in combating worry-induced insomnia. It found that reading and guided imagery are useful tools in reducing pre-sleep stimulation.
Considering how much stimulating content we consume each day, this study is enough for us to try reading before bed.
sleep for longer
Believe it or not, reading in bed could help you stay asleep longer. In a study of 18,740 adults, researchers found that appropriate sleep quantity (i.e., reading for an hour or so, instead of staying up all night to finish your new favorite novel) was linked to longer sleep duration.
If you need to catch some uninterrupted zzzs, you might want to check a new book out of the library.
e-readers vs phones
Look, we’re the first to say that e-readers are a great way to read—just check out our list of the best e-readers for 2024—but the reality is that most people don’t have an extra few hundred dollars lying around. Besides, there are plenty of great apps for reading on your phone, so why not use the device you already have?
how to read before bed on your phone
There can’t be a right and wrong way to read, right? Wrong! If you read with the brightness turned up on your phone and your TV blaring in the background, you might not get all the relaxing benefits of reading before bed.
We’ve come up with a few ways you can set yourself up for success.
check your blue light settings
If you want to relax, you need to avoid blue light. Blue light stimulates your brain, tricking it into thinking it’s daytime. Sunlight is the biggest source of blue light, but we all have a pocket full of it.
Despite only producing a fraction of the blue light that the sun produces, your phone can have a massive impact on your brain. When you use your phone before bed, your body stops releasing melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel drowsy.
The good news is that you can easily turn the blue light setting off, and here’s how to do it:
iPhones have a built-in Night Shift feature that adjusts your screen’s color temperature. You can set it to automatically turn on and off at certain times, saving your eyes from harsh blue light.
Got an Android? No problem. Go to Settings, press Display, then turn on Night Light, Blue Light filter, or Eye Comfort shield. Like iPhones, Androids let you adjust the color temperature and set an automatic schedule.
You could also try blue light glasses, but there’s not a massive amount of evidence suggesting they are successful.
remove distractions
It sounds simple enough, but we’re so used to notifications and pings that it’s easy to forget. When we hear notifications, the dopamine-reward cycle begins and we’re hardwired to look for the next dose of dopamine.
Leverage the power of Do Not Disturb to get rid of the temptation. This tool effectively silences notifications, alerts, calls, and any other sounds or images that might distract you when you’re reading before bed.
If you have an iPhone, just swipe down and press Do Not Disturb. Press the three dots to the right to customize Do Not Disturb mode by time or location.
Similarly, Android users can activate Do Not Disturb by swiping down and pressing the button.
create a bedtime routine
This isn’t a tech tip, but it’ll make reading before bed second nature.
Neuroscientists call it ‘self-directed neuroplasticity,’ but we call it creating a habit. A habit is an action you engage in so often that you develop new pathways in your brain. It all starts with a trigger action, which is followed by another action that releases dopamine.
Basically, there’s an action and then satisfaction. By stacking dopamine-inducing behaviors on top of each other, you’ll soon naturally develop a bedtime routine that focuses on reading.
Here’s an example of a bedtime reading routine:
- Light a candle
- Turn off all the big lights
- Wear something comfortable
- Put your phone on Do Not Disturb
- Settle down to read your favorite book
turn your phone into an e-reader with bookcase
Not everyone has enough spare cash for a brand-new e-reader, but Bookcase gives all the benefits at a fraction of the cost.
Bookcase transforms your phone into an e-reader in all the ways that matter. If you have a smartphone, you already have access to millions of e-books, reading apps, and customization tools, but a standard phone just can’t replicate the feeling of holding an e-reader.
Bookcase can. It adds grips to your phone, leaving you with something that resembles a traditional book. You can wave goodbye to wrist strain and enjoy an immersive reading experience.
The great thing about Bookcase is that it adds another layer of separation between your phone and your bedtime reading routine. When Do Not Disturb is on and your phone is installed in Bookcase, nothing will stop you from enjoying the benefits of reading before bed.
Another great thing about Bookcase is that installation is super easy. If you’ve got an iPhone 12 or newer, your phone is already compatible with Bookcase. The MagSafe ring will automatically adhere to your case; so you can simply place your phone between the grips.
If you’ve got an older iPhone or Android, don’t worry. Bookcase comes with a MagSafe Compatibility Kit, including a magnetic ring that you can attach to your phone or phone case.
final thoughts
Both anecdotal and scientific evidence suggest that reading is a great way to relax before bed. And, whether you’ve got an Android or an iPhone, you can create a stress-free nighttime routine that improves the quality and length of your sleep.
Happy reading!
