I’ve got a new highlight of each day, and it’s the most childish thing I can think of. Almost the most childish. I suppose playing with toys would take the top prize… but surely reading a bedtime story has got to be up there!
When the current lockdown in Auckland started, I decided I’d try to get into a good, healthy daily schedule. The first week was a struggle. I found myself still in the habit of looking at my phone right before bed and not having any consistency or routine. Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough, maybe I was adjusting to being home all day everyday and that was enough of a change for me without adding something new. The second, third and fourth weeks though, have steadily been getting better. I started doing YouTube workouts most days after logging off from work. I’ve been eating dinner earlier in the evening, instead of my occasional habit of just before bed. I played guitar and re-learned some chords I’d forgotten. But the most fun thing has been, you guessed it, story time!
Why do we give up on story time when we grow up?
I used to love story time, not before bed particularly, but at school. Some of my favourite memories are sitting on the mat in primary school, listening to a chapter of children classics. I loved it. Sometimes I was so excited I borrowed the book from the library and read ahead. Now that I think of it, I loved story books as a teen too. It’s part of the reason I gave up reading fiction books as an adult, actually. It’s just so uncomfortable having to put an engrossing book down, when other things like studying or sleeping inevitably need doing!
Well, story time is back in my life and I’m happily going for it.
Except, it’s not me being read the story anymore like I was as a kid. Sitting there quietly, drinking it in, and listening while someone else read out loud.
No, now it’s I doing the reading out loud, and I’m finding it to be so. much. fun!
Is this how my teachers used to feel when they read us children’s novels? That exciting time of getting to share a story with listening young ears (or, in my case, listening older ears since there ain’t any kids in my household bubble). I don’t know what it is about reading outloud, but it’s just so addictive and calming and pleasant all at once.
Why, you ask? Well, I consider it “addictive” cause every time I finish a chapter, I want to read out the next one and go on trying to bring the essence of the characters to life. I find it “calming”, since it’s a winding-down, end-of-the-day, relaxing type of activity. I suppose “pleasant” is probably more to do with the story I pick and the general ambience of the room, then the activity itself. I imagine story time could be very unpleasant if a different genre was chosen and I didn’t have a comfy seat to sit on.
I think the best part of story time though, is how it’s helped me get into a good, healthy daily schedule.
Let me explain.
Reason #1: It’s fun.
So I actually look forward to bedtime now, cause I know just before bedtime, is story time! My think I used to dread bedtime, and even subconsciously put it off, cause it’s just so boring. (I enjoy working and doing things and having to abruptly stop and lie awake doing absolutely nothing and struggling to fall asleep, often felt like such a bother to me.) But now, I’m super eager to start my evening wind-down routine before bed time. Early dinner? Yeah! Brush my teeth straight after? Yeah! Settle into my comfy chair ready for the next chapter? A very excited yeah!
Reason #2: There’s accountability.
You just can’t go reading on past bedtime if you’re reading out loud to someone else! If I was doing story time by myself e.g. reading a book before bed on my own, I’d probably be struggling with when to draw the line and stop. Like I said before, it’s just so uncomfortable to put an engrossing book down. But now that I’m reading to someone else, once story time is over, that’s it. I’m not about to go wandering off through the story and then have to rehash it all again the next day for someone else. Ugh. No. So without hardly even trying, self-discipline kicks in. Bye bye to the characters for that day, and off-to-bed for me.
Reason #3: It’s tiring with no hang-ons.
Not tiring as in extremely draining. But tiring as in it takes effort (like putting in a good exercise workout session). So by the time story time is over, I actually find myself yawning and ready for bed.
In a way, work is tiring as well, but I don’t find doing work just before bed a particuarly good idea. There’s usually hang-ons with work. Something more you can do, or some idea to think about, and my mind just keeps brainstorming and staying alert and awake instead of drifting off to sleep.
Reading out loud is tiring, without the hang-ons. It’s nice tiring. I like it.
So that was unexpected.
Personally I find it low-key hilarious that something like reading stories out loud helps me sleep better. If you’d have asked me what I think would help me sleep better, I might have said bubble baths or listening to white noise or turning devices off 2 hours before bed. Actually, maybe those would help me sleep better. I don’t know, as I haven’t really tried them. But as it is, reading out loud seems to work for now.
P.S. I wonder if I can keep it up after lockdown is over.
P.P.S I wonder if reading outloud can be used to improve other areas of my life… hmm…