Why Reading Before Bed Is Becoming an Analog Ritual Again
✨ Key Takeaways
- Reading before bed can reduce stress by more than half, helping your nervous system shift toward sleep.
- Choosing a book over a screen supports analog living and limits late-night digital stimulation.
- The ritual creates reconnection with yourself, making rest feel intentional instead of accidental.
I started reading again because I had a problem I could no longer ignore.
After long days working online, jumping between tabs, messages, and constant updates, my focus felt shattered.
Even when I was exhausted, my mind kept asking for more input, and sleep felt more like collapse than recovery.
What struck me was how common this had become.
Many of us laugh about short attention spans, yet rarely recognize it as a nervous system pushed beyond its limits.
So I tried something simple. I replaced the last part of my evening scrolling with a physical book.
The change was quiet but physical. Breathing slowed, thoughts settled, and the day began to loosen its grip.
Later I learned that just minutes of reading can significantly reduce stress, while screens at night keep the brain in alert mode by delaying melatonin.
Reading on paper works differently. It narrows attention, removes endless choice, and gives the mind stability.
Within analog living, it becomes a way to rebuild dopamine balance and reconnect with yourself without force.
I realized my problem was not discipline. It was overstimulation. My brain was trying to survive.
And every night I read, focus returned a little more the next day.
What Science Says
The importance of reading, in general, has not changed, and everything we’ve said about the advantages of reading as a whole still applies to evening books: they aid anxiety and stress management, enhance mental capacity and empathy, and reduce the risk of age-related brain disease and depression.
Researchers at the University of Sussex’s Mindlab International lab discovered back in 2009 that simply 6 minutes with a book relieves accumulated muscular tension while slowing the heart rate, lowering stress levels by 68%.
At the same time, words printed on a page “stimulate creative activity and encourage the transition to an altered state of consciousness,” according to one of the researchers, neuropsychologist David Lewis.
This creates a “buffer zone” that prevents stress from leading to sleep deprivation and the emergence of nightmares.
Experts in the study of thought processes are well aware that sleep is necessary for the transition of information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
You will remember what you read before going to sleep much better than what you “grasped” in transport on the way to work.
Reading, in turn, qualitatively improves the process of sleep, so psychologists often recommend reading before bedtime to children and adults with high levels of anxiety.
This view is also held by Jade Wells of Nuffield Health, a British non-profit medical organization.
Social Media vs. Books
Furthermore, if you read a paper book before going to sleep, you won’t have time for social media.
And that’s fantastic because smartphones, tablets, and computer screens emit radiation that inhibits the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Belgian researchers confirmed in 2015 that this issue is not limited to children and teenagers; it affects adults as well.
So, if one evening you prefer an e-book to a paper book (or one with e-ink that does not glow), prepare to toss and turn for another two hours after shutting your device off.
As a child, many of us were told that reading in bed was bad for us: it was believed that the wrong light and uncomfortable posture spoiled our eyesight and caused musculoskeletal disorders.
That argument still works today, but can it undo the benefits of reading before bedtime that we mentioned above?
Can we still read before bedtime? Yes! To avoid harm to health, you only need to comply with four conditions:
- Read paper books or use a reader with electronic ink, but in any case do not pick up the phone, tablet or laptop two hours before going to sleep. Protect yourself from insomnia provoked by the “blue screen” effect.
- Read in good light, sitting in an armchair or on a bed, with your back against the wall or a solid backrest, and try to keep the distance from the page to your eyes equal to about 33 cm. That way you will preserve your eyesight.
- Choose books that do not provoke you with violent emotions and do not require you to comprehend every word. Thrillers and horror books are not as good as textbooks, self-development books, and philosophical works. Take advantage of this advice, and you will not be bothered by nightmares, and awakening will be pleasant.
- Don’t let your bedtime reading turn into reading instead of sleeping. Too exciting a story will deprive you of a whole night’s rest, and your body will need to compensate during the day. Or choose short works that won’t last until morning.
Some Healthy Tips
- Set aside sometime each day for reading. Whether it’s 15 minutes or an hour, find a time that works for you and stick to it.
- Keep your books or magazines in a place where you can easily grab them when it’s time to read.
- Make sure the lighting in your room is dim or soft so that your eyes don’t have to adjust too much when you start reading.
Reading before bed can be beneficial in many ways.
It can help you wind down from the day, relax your mind, and get some quality time with a good book.
There are also some drawbacks to reading before bed, such as staying up too late or choosing an exciting book that makes it hard to fall asleep.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether reading before bed is right for you.
If you do choose to read before sleep, make sure to choose a book that won’t keep you up all night!
