Do audio books stop you sleeping?

[Mossball]

DS is 15 and his sleep is terrible. To help we are now removing all access to electronic devices between 8 and 9pm. Bedsides being the worst parents he is also saying he's bored. He has never been a great reader but does like audio books. Do these impact sleep?

For me, they help. Having somebody quietly tell me a story makes all the chatter in my head quieten down to listen. However, it has to be a story I already know, so I’m not keeping myself awake to find out what happens, and nothing too exciting or scary.

I find audiobooks or radio shows actively help me drop off!

It depends on the book and why the person is struggling to sleep. I suffer a lot with the night-time 'What ifs' and my brain is churning away like mad thinking about things that may never happen. In that situation a 'middling' interesting audio book is a great distraction, stops me thinking about things to much and I do drift off to sleep.

However, the book really does matter. If it's a very exciting 'page turner' then yes, it can be a hinderance. If it's comedy then I get told off for sniggering like muttley by my husband, but it doesn't actually stop me drifting off usually. Some narrators bug me so much they don't provide the required distraction as I'm focusing so much on their inadequacies.

If I'm really struggling to sleep, I use an audio book I've heard before, to really get rid of the problem of wanting to see what happens next. If things get really desperate I listen to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or a Harry Potter.

Another family who use audiobooks to sleep.
husband especially - has to be well known books with a good narrator ( I favour Harry Potter , he does rumple or swallows and amazons ).

also calm sleep stories are magic

They've really helped with my insomnia. I appreciate a 15 year old might not have the 'adult worries of the world that enter your head as soon as it touches the pillow' but for me it helped me to stop the catrasrophising and drop off within a timed 20-30 min
Only time it doesn't work is if the book is too good!

Yep, they help me too.

Audiobooks and podcasts usually help me sleep. They turn off the chatter in my brain and seem to lull me off.

They can help.I have had difficulties getting to sleep since I was a child.

I listen to a bbc radio drama or podcast every night. They help me forget about my worries and I focus on the story.

I would recommend the podcast Night Falls for gentle help getting to sleep.

Wow that is overwhelmingly positive! Thank you. Unfortunately he is a bit down at the moment and is catastrophising - he's worried he's going to fail his GCSEs and end up a sad lonely 40 year old living with his parents. Anything to distract from this would be great.

there are some great sleep hypnosis audio recordings on youtube, they work a treat! So you are listening but the voices are so calming you basically are out like a light within a few mins.

I guess it depends what you listen to. I love, love, love audiobooks. In fact, I'd nominate them as one of the greatest inventions ever. For me, listening to Stephen Fry read P.G. Wodehouse or Sherlock Holmes is pure bliss. And they definitely help me sleep.

Could I also recommend Mark Williams' meditation? You can find them on youtube. His bodyscan meditation is close to magic. It is literally the only thing I have ever found that cures my bouts of insomnia.

Audio books help people to fall asleep because hearing is the last thing go before you fall asleep. Even people in comas can still hear. So if you're busy listening everything else can drop off to sleep before you know it.

I listen to a podcast to send me to sleep. I'd also recommend a weighted blanket.

Try out BBC sounds first then get Audible

Audiobooks help me to drop off, but I echo what others have said..a page turner can keep you awake lol.

but the familiar stories I find comfort and relaxation, and it also depends on the narrator as well

I can't sleep unless I'm listening to an audio book. They also send me off during the night when I keep waking up.

I love them. I leave it running all night so if I wake up I don't fully wake up and just drift back to sleep.

I have Cabin Pressure playing quietly all night. Have done for years. It's wonderful at sending me off to sleep and keeping me company when I wake in the night.

I love to fall asleep to an audio book, because it's pretty much instant. I set the sleep timer on my Audible app to 10 mins, but am literally asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Best of all are books I've already listened to; it's familiar and therefore not engaging in the slightest, but still stops my mind from wandering.
I also like using the sleep timer on my radio alarm clock, just set it on R4 as, again, the programming is reassuringly familiar; the shipping forecast being a total knock-out.

DS9 has the Harry Potter audiobooks on his Alexa speaker every night. There is a timer for them to go off. Stephen fry could narrate the radio times and it would be worth listening to! He's amazing!!