Reading before bed: a habit that your brain loves
More than a habit is a pleasure. Reading before bed frees us from a day of worries. It is a private moment where we immerse ourselves in a sea of letters, in a world of possibilities that takes us by the hand and the mind to exciting scenarios. This habit is one of the favorites of our brain because it loves to be nourished, stimulated, seduced every night …
Some people close the light of their nightstand or room at the end of the last chapter of their book. He does it with that intoxicating placidity when he perceives the weight of sleep stuck to the eyelids and the calm in a mind that perhaps already runs in the world of dreams. Others, turn off the light late at night after having seen a few chapters of his favorite series. Some are dropped on the pillow after a few hours between social networks, emails or whatsapp groups.
“There are only two things you can go to bed with: a person and a book.” -Ray Bradbury-
Everyone has their habits, their customs and their way of life. However, whether we want it or not, those routines prior to night rest in many cases determine our quality of life. If reading before going to bed has always been an ancient and habitual tradition, in recent times it is something in danger of extinction.
Reading not just an authentic pity, it is a way of neglecting our health and that of our brain. Let’s see it in detail.
Reading before bed and its unsuspected benefits
Give us a relaxing shower, put on comfortable clothes, prepare a good tea and then go to bed with a book. It is simple, economical and rewarding. Even more, it can even change our lives in many ways.
For those who think that this is little more than an exaggeration, it is enough to know what science tells us about it. Reading before going to sleep is ultimately a simple form of happiness that we should not give up. Visit this content for modern russian clothing.
A very effective form of relaxation
A study carried out by the organization “The Sleep Council” of the United Kingdom, concluded with something very interesting. Namely, reading between half an hour or an hour just before going to bed, significantly reduces our stress levels.
- The mind is distracted and moves away from our daily pressures. We offer you a scenario where you can free yourself, feel safe and relativize.
- Likewise, it has been possible to demonstrate that our muscles also relax. What’s more, our breathing slows down and becomes more rhythmic.
- Reading is for experts the best alternative to television or electronic devices. The latter “trick” the brain into thinking it is still daylight. All this is due to the blue light, which directly reduces the production of melatonin.
Improve our cognitive resistance
Although at present we still have no cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, there is one aspect that we do have in our favor. The possibility of training our brain to make it more resistant, stronger in the face of cognitive decline.
One way to achieve this is by reading. If we also acquire the habit of reading just before going to sleep, we will optimize our brain processes even more. We will manage stress better, we will sleep better, we will stimulate memory, mental agility, imagination … It is worth taking into account.
Reading before bed can boost to our creativity
A relaxed brain drives the creative mind. A person who night after night feeds on stories, learnings, stories, possibilities and fabulous discoveries, further drives his inventiveness, his originality and possibility of creation. Thus, experts in reading psychology, such as Keith E. Stanovich of the University of Toronto, point out in turn that few routines can be so beneficial for our children.
Not only do we improve their culture, vocabulary and expressive skills, we also develop their abstract thinking.
It will improve your empathy
Raymond Mar, a psychologist at the University of York in Canada, is one of the people who has contributed the most work and studies to defend the following premise: reading helps us to be more empathetic. The novels, the narratives offer us a unique opportunity to develop this capacity. We identify with the characters, we suffer with them, we laugh and we love at their side…
All this leaves a mark, all this invites us to improve our empathic capacity much more. Also, and curious as it may seem, reading before bedtime improves this process even more. At this time we focus much more on our readings, we are more focused to capture those emotions, to make them more vivid in our brain.
Greater inner calm
Few things can be more negative than going to bed in a bad mood. It can be like annoyed by a complicated day of work. Uncomfortable by some disagreement with our partner, worried about the news, that’s why it happened yesterday, that’s why we have to do tomorrow.
One way to “break” with the cycle of worry is through a book. Reading before bedtime is like taking a direct ticket to an island of peace. It is allowing us to be someone different, with other routines, other skins and other missions. Only for half an hour or two hours, we can allow ourselves to connect with that parallel universe to rest from reality.
To do so and give us those daily moments of peace, we must train our brain in the art of calm and relaxation. So let’s not hesitate to practice this exercise every night. Reading before bed is worthy to the health. Let’s take a paper book (not electronic) and let it take us wherever he wants.