WHAT TO READ TO HELP YOU SLEEP

Have you ever chosen a book to read before you go to bed in the hopes that it may help you get to sleep quicker? But it ended up being incredibly boring and you find yourself more distracted. But, if you were to read a suspenseful thriller, you might find yourself staying up for far too long.

Instead of reading something overly stimulating or boring, we’ve compiled our top 10 books to read before you sleep.

 

Grandmothers, Salley Vickers

Salley Vickers is known for her calming and restful stories, and this is no different. Grandmother’s explores the roles that grandparents play in our lives in gentle, tender detail. A warm-hearted, poignantly observed book to give you comfort before you go to sleep.

The Sweetness of Life, Francoise Heritier

This small book belongs on bedside tables and is the perfect pick me up after a bad day. It comprises of many letters written by Heritier wrote to a close friend who was suffering from depression, and acts as a lift of often everyday overlooked things that make life happier. It’s joyful and reminiscent and if you’re feeling low, you could try jotting down some of your own small pleasures to read back, there are even blank pages in this book to do exactly this.

Swimmer Among the Stars, Kanishk Tharoor

Short stories are the perfect balance to read in the evening when you don’t have time to get stuck into a novel but you perhaps need a read. Tharoor’s stories are remarkably crafted and imaginative.

Midnight Library, Matt Haig

The Midnight Library is an elegantly mapped out set of messages beneath an entertaining plot. There’s something safe and cosy about this book, despite the Library sitting in the void between life and death. It’s a captivating, inspiring and uplifting book that is a heartfelt reminder to do more than exists, to remind us to truly live.

The Little Book of Sleep: The Art of Natural Sleep, Dr Nerina Remlakhan

The Little Book of Sleep has bee crafted to help readers to achieve a deeper, natural sleep state using illustrated guides. Offering helpful tips along with yoga and body-awareness techniques that will help you get out of your head and connect with your body before sleep.

A Wilderness Station: Selected Stories 1968-1994, Alice Munro

Setting aside that many of the very best writers are masters of short stories, they ultimately are short and therefore perfect to read before you go to bed. Through a Wilderness Station, Alice Munro makes lives that seem small unfold until they are revealed to be incredibly complex, locating the moments of love, betrayal, desire and forgiveness that change those lives forever.

The Book of Sleep: 75 Strategies to Relieve Insomnia, Dr Nicole Moshfegh

Based on cognitive behavioural therapy techniques, this book outlines many methods to help those who suffer from insomnia. It also provides a daily log for readers to track sleep and identify their own personal sleep patterns.

The Sleep Solution, Chris Winter

We know the importance of good sleep and how it impacts all areas of our lives, and in this book, Winter shares what he has learnt about the science of sleeping after helping 10,000+ patients get better rest. This book aims to teach people how to get the best night of rest possible, he dives into the details of root causes and what could be keeping you from having a restful sleep.

Strength in Stillness, Bob Roth

Transcendental meditation is one of the most practised forms, it involves sitting comfortably with your eyes closed and repeating the silent mantra in your head. Experts recommend this practice twice a day for 20 minutes. In this book, Roth explains the many benefits of transcendental meditation and gives personal instruction on how to properly perform the practice.

The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness, Andy Puddicombe

If you find yourself struggling to fit meditation into your day-to-day life, then this book is for you.  Andy Puddicombe is a clinical meditation counsellor, and through this book, teaches readers that meditation doesn’t have to be time-consuming or inconvenient and that in fact, you can do it during your lunch break, before work or before bed you just need to take 10 minutes.