Audiobooks vs Reading Physically - Which Works Better With Melatonin?
How To Fall Asleep If You Can’t. Tip: Don’t Read A Book.
Listen To An Audiobook Instead. And Take Extra Melatonin.
To help you understand why we are writing this recommendation, you will have to first know more about melatonin, which is the natural hormone in our body, critical to our sleep.
Melatonin acts on the nervous system once released, allowing the body to fall naturally into a state of sleep. A good balance of melatonin hence helps you sleep better at night, and also makes it far less likely for you to wake up during the night.
Melatonin combined with an audiobook, great success!
We all know that sleep is one of our most valuable commodities. Taking melatonin AND listening to audiobooks is one of the best ways to fall for a good night’s sleep.
Here is why.
This Is Why We Sleep: Melatonin Works
Melatonin is NOT a sleeping drug. It is a naturally occurring sleeping hormone. It is produced and released by the pineal gland in the brain in the evenings, and also in the absence of light. This is also the reason why we all feel a natural state of sleepiness at night, and if you want to fall asleep naturally, you should not contradict that with excessive light.
To find out more, you may read our other article: What Is Melatonin and How Does It Work
Light Prevents The Body From Producing Melatonin
This is why we associate falling asleep with switching off the lamps at night. Light that falls into your eyes will suppress melatonin from being formed in your body in a natural way.
For people with full melatonin production, that does not matter so much. But for people with less natural melatonin production that can make all the difference.
And you cannot easily take as much extra melatonin as you need to fall asleep.
Reading is a NO-GO when it comes to falling asleep
It is now pretty clear how this works, right? Light impedes melatonin production, and lack of melatonin will hinder the natural sleep process.
When reading you keep your eyes open. Your open eyes catch light. That light prevents your body from producing melatonin. That melatonin is missing when you want to doze off into sleep.
So don’t read after going to bed. Switch the light off.
Make yourself comfortable and ready for sleep – lights off.
What Types of Light Affect Sleep?
Virtually all light can affect sleep, but not all types of light have the same impact. Daylight, which in direct sunlight has up to 10,000 lux, a unit to measure illuminance, is far more intense than even bright office lighting, which rarely reaches about 500 lux. For this reason, daylight has a profound influence on sleep timing. It is also almost impossible to nap with the windows wide open in the day.
There can be important differences between types of artificial light as well. Some types have more illuminance and brightness. That said, even light that appears to have the same brightness may, in reality, have a different wavelength, changing how it’s perceived by the eye and brain.
For example, blue light has a short wavelength and is emitted by many LEDs. Studies have found that it has a significantly larger effect on natural melatonin production in your body than light with a longer wavelength. Many electronic devices, including cell phones, tablets, and laptops, emit blue light, and their extensive evening use can contribute to sleep problems.
Is It Best To Sleep In Pitch Darkness?
As a general rule, it is best to sleep in as much darkness as possible. Hence, pitch darkness reduces potential distractions and disruptions to sleep.
Sleeping with a light on interferes with sleep cycles and causes more fragmented sleep, and these downsides may be greatest in the few hours before waking up.
Research even demonstrates that closing your eyes isn’t enough; your eyelids can’t block sufficient light. The negative effects on natural melatonin production in your body can occur even with low levels of indoor light and closed eyes!
This issue will be even more pronounced for people whose body’s melatonin production is less than natural. If they don't produce enough melatonin naturally, and the light is suppressing the production even more, they will face even more severe insomnia.
So, Why An Audio Book For Better Sleep?
We have shared many ways in which light affects sleep. So, the reason is very simple: while listening to an audio book, you can keep the light switched off. That brings the naturally produced melatonin in your body up to higher levels.
The aural interaction of listening to a book rather than reading it — is also mainly conducive to falling asleep: there are even known audio book speakers out there that have a voice that makes you sleepy.
With technology becoming much more advanced, the majority of us would be reading a book from a tablet, through apps like Amazon Kindle. Studies in the past found that people who read from an iPad for 30 minutes before bed felt much less sleepy and had different electrical activity in their brain during sleep than those who listened to the same audiobook. Besides, audiobooks are also recommended by many sleep-tracking and sleep-aid apps.
Overall Message on Reading Affecting Sleep Health
The short conclusion: listening to audiobooks is a great method to fall asleep – you get to read a book yet ensure maximum darkness.
If that still does not help, then you might want to check out the genre of the books you are listening to. Some people can be kept awake by a good story, while others can easily nod off. You will have to test one for yourself to find out for sure.
We encourage you to experiment what works better for you and eventually, we are sure that you will be able to achieve sleep perfection.
And don’t forget to enhance your melatonin level by taking a melatonin supplement 30 minutes before you switch the light in your bedroom off.
Good night! Shui De Hao!
How To Fall Asleep If You Can’t. Tip: Don’t Read A Book.
Listen To An Audiobook Instead. And Take Extra Melatonin.
To help you understand why we are writing this recommendation, you will have to first know more about melatonin, which is the natural hormone in our body, critical to our sleep.
Melatonin acts on the nervous system once released, allowing the body to fall naturally into a state of sleep. A good balance of melatonin hence helps you sleep better at night, and also makes it far less likely for you to wake up during the night.
Melatonin combined with an audiobook, great success!
We all know that sleep is one of our most valuable commodities. Taking melatonin AND listening to audiobooks is one of the best ways to fall for a good night’s sleep.
Here is why.
This Is Why We Sleep: Melatonin Works
Melatonin is NOT a sleeping drug. It is a naturally occurring sleeping hormone. It is produced and released by the pineal gland in the brain in the evenings, and also in the absence of light. This is also the reason why we all feel a natural state of sleepiness at night, and if you want to fall asleep naturally, you should not contradict that with excessive light.
To find out more, you may read our other article: What Is Melatonin and How Does It Work
Light Prevents The Body From Producing Melatonin
This is why we associate falling asleep with switching off the lamps at night. Light that falls into your eyes will suppress melatonin from being formed in your body in a natural way.
For people with full melatonin production, that does not matter so much. But for people with less natural melatonin production that can make all the difference.
And you cannot easily take as much extra melatonin as you need to fall asleep.
Reading is a NO-GO when it comes to falling asleep
It is now pretty clear how this works, right? Light impedes melatonin production, and lack of melatonin will hinder the natural sleep process.
When reading you keep your eyes open. Your open eyes catch light. That light prevents your body from producing melatonin. That melatonin is missing when you want to doze off into sleep.
So don’t read after going to bed. Switch the light off.
Make yourself comfortable and ready for sleep – lights off.
What Types of Light Affect Sleep?
Virtually all light can affect sleep, but not all types of light have the same impact. Daylight, which in direct sunlight has up to 10,000 lux, a unit to measure illuminance, is far more intense than even bright office lighting, which rarely reaches about 500 lux. For this reason, daylight has a profound influence on sleep timing. It is also almost impossible to nap with the windows wide open in the day.
There can be important differences between types of artificial light as well. Some types have more illuminance and brightness. That said, even light that appears to have the same brightness may, in reality, have a different wavelength, changing how it’s perceived by the eye and brain.
For example, blue light has a short wavelength and is emitted by many LEDs. Studies have found that it has a significantly larger effect on natural melatonin production in your body than light with a longer wavelength. Many electronic devices, including cell phones, tablets, and laptops, emit blue light, and their extensive evening use can contribute to sleep problems.
Is It Best To Sleep In Pitch Darkness?
As a general rule, it is best to sleep in as much darkness as possible. Hence, pitch darkness reduces potential distractions and disruptions to sleep.
Sleeping with a light on interferes with sleep cycles and causes more fragmented sleep, and these downsides may be greatest in the few hours before waking up.
Research even demonstrates that closing your eyes isn’t enough; your eyelids can’t block sufficient light. The negative effects on natural melatonin production in your body can occur even with low levels of indoor light and closed eyes!
This issue will be even more pronounced for people whose body’s melatonin production is less than natural. If they don't produce enough melatonin naturally, and the light is suppressing the production even more, they will face even more severe insomnia.
So, Why An Audio Book For Better Sleep?
We have shared many ways in which light affects sleep. So, the reason is very simple: while listening to an audio book, you can keep the light switched off. That brings the naturally produced melatonin in your body up to higher levels.
The aural interaction of listening to a book rather than reading it — is also mainly conducive to falling asleep: there are even known audio book speakers out there that have a voice that makes you sleepy.
With technology becoming much more advanced, the majority of us would be reading a book from a tablet, through apps like Amazon Kindle. Studies in the past found that people who read from an iPad for 30 minutes before bed felt much less sleepy and had different electrical activity in their brain during sleep than those who listened to the same audiobook. Besides, audiobooks are also recommended by many sleep-tracking and sleep-aid apps.
Overall Message on Reading Affecting Sleep Health
The short conclusion: listening to audiobooks is a great method to fall asleep – you get to read a book yet ensure maximum darkness.
If that still does not help, then you might want to check out the genre of the books you are listening to. Some people can be kept awake by a good story, while others can easily nod off. You will have to test one for yourself to find out for sure.
We encourage you to experiment what works better for you and eventually, we are sure that you will be able to achieve sleep perfection.
And don’t forget to enhance your melatonin level by taking a melatonin supplement 30 minutes before you switch the light in your bedroom off.
Good night! Shui De Hao!