This might be a very niche request, so appreciate any suggestions!
I struggle with falling asleep due to an active mind, and recently I have been listening to audiobooks to help with this. It seems to only work with certain books, and I’ve figured out that the books need to be:
– Non-fiction
– On topics that engage my mind intellectually without eliciting strong emotions (so maybe something a bit dry/academic/clinical?)
– Have a soothing narrator (usually deeper voices male or female)
I enjoy historical topics that are old enough not to carry emotional salience anymore. Although I enjoy a lot of topics like psychology, politics, etc., in general, I can’t do those at bedtime because they make me anxious at the state of the world.
Some recent ones I’ve liked for bedtime:
– American Nations by Colin Woodard
– Ancient DNA by David Reich
– Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wen
– The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David Anthony
– Some Buddhist philosophy ones
Open to other topics as well! I’ve tried nature writing books but they don’t engage my mind enough to keep it from wandering unfortunately. And there are others where the topic is on point, but the voice is not soothing.
Anyway, any suggestions are very much appreciated!
by SignificantWalk6541