Study shows this common bedtime routine greatly improves sleep
Earth.com • • health
Key Points:
- A December 2019 online trial with 991 adults found that 42% of those who read before bed reported improved sleep, compared to 28% of nonreaders, suggesting bedtime reading can aid sleep quality.
- Reading before sleep engages memory, language, and emotion systems, promoting neuroplasticity and helping stabilize newly learned information during sleep, particularly when done regularly.
- Literary fiction reading enhances social reasoning and empathy by exercising theory of mind, while dense nonfiction reading recruits brain regions involved in judgment and self-control, contributing to cognitive reserve over time.
- Quiet, calm reading at bedtime can reduce stress and physical arousal by narrowing attention and avoiding digital distractions, though highly suspenseful content may have the opposite effect on sleep.
