Its midnight, I am tossing and turning in my bed. The monotonous sound “tick-tick” of the clock is the only thing audible. It becomes irritating with every passing second, as I kept forcing myself to fall asleep. I failed. This was the 4th time in a week. The next morning was even worse, as I dragged my tired body to cover the day. Insomnia messed up my emotions and productivity. As I desperately tried to keep myself awake during my daily commute by watching Youtube videos, an advertisement popped up. “Listen To Your Favourite Book” was the ad. Listen? But books are meant to be read right? That was when I came to know about audiobooks.

I was excited to try this book listening thing and decided that it would be a good use to the hours when I lie awake in the bed at night. I plugged in my earphones and started listening to my favorite story, Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone. And I pre-downloaded the audiobooks of the next books of the series too, just in case.

It started off well, as I was visualizing the scenes with closed eyes. Harry got into Hogwarts Express, a chapter ended, another started. And before I knew a noise woke me up. As I opened my eyes, I realized that hawkers were selling vegetables down the lane. It was morning! I was asleep the entire night, a smile arched across my face at the same moment. I felt energized and happy after a long time.

How Audiobooks Help

When you listen to an audiobook, your attention is towards a single thing, there is no distraction. The attention gets soften over time until we fall to sleep. It works the same way as counting the breath, but much more informative.

Audiobooks put me to bed within 30 minutes to 2 hours. I don’t have to read heavy books, as I can listen to them. It’s a win-win game.

Where can you get Audiobooks?

There are hundreds of websites where you can get audiobooks, but not all of them are of quality. You can sign up on “AUDIBLE” and get a free one month trial. If you like it, get a subscription.

Other than that these websites also provide audiobooks:-

• Librivox
• Lit2Go
• Loyal Books
• Mind Webs
• Open Culture
• Overdrive
• Podiobooks
• Project Gutenberg
• Spotify
• Storynory
• SYNC

These are all free audiobook websites, but they’re legal. The internet is full of illegal copies I’m sure, but that doesn’t help the authors or publishers who work hard on these books. Instead, use these free resources and then make sure to leave reviews for these books on GoodReads, Amazon, and other review sites.

Sleep adviser Lisa Artis, from The Sleep Council, says: ‘A consistent bedtime routine, and making sufficient time to relax, is key to achieving a good night’s sleep. Listening to an audiobook is one way to wind down before bed as it helps you to switch off.’

Deserves a try? Doesn’t it?

WARNING: Do not use wired earphones/headphones when you are trying to go to sleep, while your device is on the charge.