Poor sleep – can audiobooks help?
Many people feel that audiobooks at bedtime make it easier to sleep. Sleep researcher Christian Benedict (pictured) and literary scholar Karl Berglund are now going to investigate. Photo: Tobias Sterner, Uppsala universitet
Almost every second adult in Sweden has difficulties sleeping and there is widespread uneasiness about taking traditional sleeping pills. Now pharmacology and literary studies are coming together in an ‘unexpected collaboration’ at Uppsala University to investigate whether audiobooks could be a scientific route to better rest.
What are you going to look at in this research project?
“The study is a collaboration between me, a professor of pharmacology, and Karl Berglund, a literary scholar, so it’s an exciting meeting between two different fields of research. We want to find out why so many people listen to audiobooks when it’s time to sleep, and whether it can actually help them sleep. Many people feel that it works, but so far this perception is mostly based on personal experiences. Our aim in this study is to get a better picture of how and why audiobooks are used at bedtime, and whether they can have a real impact on sleep,” explains Christian Benedict, sleep researcher and professor of pharmacology at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences.
Why is it important to do research on audiobooks as an alternative for better sleep?
“It’s important to explore this, because almost every second adult in Sweden has difficulties sleeping. Many people are uneasy about pharmacological measures, such as sleeping pills or similar remedies. However, they would like to sleep better. I don’t believe an audiobook is a miracle cure for poor sleep, but all the same, it’s a non-pharmacological means that could perhaps help you forget the stress of everyday life.”
What has previous research shown?
“There hasn’t actually been much research. There’s a study from Turkey in which the researchers investigated how the use of audiobooks can affect patients’ sleep in a hospital setting, and there they saw improvement. There have been quite a few studies that have looked at music. They have concluded that music can be beneficial but it’s very individual. Some people can fall asleep to ACDC and others need something very calm.”
Many people listen to detective stories, for instance. Could that influence their dreams?
“Yes, that’s certainly possible. For example, there’s a study where people slept in a sleep lab after playing Tetris. When the researchers woke them during dream sleep, they said their dreams contained obvious elements of the game. This shows that the things we do or take in before falling asleep can turn up in our dreams. If you listen to an exciting detective story before going to sleep, for example, it’s perfectly possible the contents could intrude into your dreams, why not?”
What sort of results are you hoping for?
“We hope to get a better picture of the typical audiobook listener at bedtime. Are they mainly women or men? Do certain age groups stand out? Is it people with major sleeping difficulties who use audiobooks the most? We also want to see whether life situation and environment play a role, for example whether there are differences between people who live in town and people who live in the country. In short, the study is about creating a better understanding of who listens to audiobooks at bedtime and why.”
Fatemeh Khudadadi