The Secret to Reducing Stress? It’s on Your Bookshelf
When life gets a bit too much, a good book might be all you need.
Did you know that reading a book is one of the most effective ways to get rid of stress?
I didn’t really believe it myself, not until life started piling on the pressure. Between a full-time job, writing on Medium, planning an overseas trip and navigating the immigration system, I’ve spent the last few weeks ready to pull out my hair.
Even worse, the usual remedies haven’t helped much. Playing video games, listening to music and watching Netflix just barely lifted my mood.
The only thing that really made me feel better was when I read a few pages at night, half an hour before drifting to sleep.
Apparently, it’s not just me either! The benefits of reading are actually quite well-documented. There are more than a few studies that back up the healing power of reading.
We can take this little study from the University of Sussex as an example.
They found that reading for six minutes can reduce your stress levels by 68 percent — a bigger impact than listening to music or going for a walk.
And these findings aren’t just a one-off. Another study found that 30 minutes of reading was about as effective at fighting stress as yoga or humor. That puts it pretty darn high on the list!
Then there’s the good news for restless sleepers. A 2021 “reading trial” found that people who read a book in bed before sleeping reported a much better sleep than those who didn't.
But speaking personally? I found that what I read before bedtime also has a big impact.
A thrilling page-turner will just rile me up and make getting to sleep even harder. But if I dig into something slow-paced or a dense work of non-fiction, sleep usually comes a lot easier.
In my experience, it’s all about how you use books to unwind.
Maybe, like me, you spend too much of your time doing what’s useful. You work to make money, you go to the gym to get healthy, and you write online for a little extra income.
So, of course you feel good when you do something unproductive… like curling up with a good book.
Yes, you can read for self-improvement, but there’s really nothing like reading for the sake of curiosity. To immerse yourself in stories and learn new things, not because it’s useful, but because it enriches your inner life.
And it’s hard to think of a better stress reliever than that.
