We all know that reading can offer a great escape in our imaginations, inviting us into new worlds and experiences – proven to be good for our wellbeing.

Audiobook users read fantasy books when wanted repose, transported to a fancy world filled with magic, and quests to find calmness. Some find comfort in reading both in adults and children, when need of relief from a difficult day.

 

Audiobooks Help Anxiety and Stress

Audiobooks are great for relaxation when experiencing anxiety or panic. There are ways it can help with anxiety, here are the benefits:

  • Narrator’s gentle voice can provide a comforting influence.
  • Audiobooks can help focus attention on a short story.
  • Audiobooks can help provide a distraction if stress triggers panic.

According to research from the University of Sussex, certain amount of time in reading can be enough to reduce stress levels. 

As specified by Louise Barling from Listening Books (an audiobook lending charity for people that find their illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects ability to read), published in Happiful some mental health benefits of listening to audiobooks. Members of the charity Listening Books use audiobooks to help their mental health and daily life.

1. Keep panic attacks under control, listening to audiobooks will distract a person from anxiety.

2. Aid sleep, audiobooks can give brain the relaxation it needs to rest properly. It can switch off the listener’s tired brain to relax and listen.

3. Grow confidence for people who find difficulty concentrating on books.

4. Distract from negative thoughts by immersing a user in someone else’s story.

5. Raise serotonin levels which is link to mood, learning, and memory. People with mental illnesses such as depression tend to have lower levels of serotonin.

“Listening to books can help improve health, memory, and concentration.”

The delight users get from laughing at a funny story or immersed in a romance, can make them feel happier, which can help them overcome negative feelings linked to anxiety and depression.

Comedy works extremely well on road trips, also light-hearted business reading with few laughs works. Children's books are terrific to listen to as well.

 

Find Audiobooks Help with Anxiety

Audiobook services or applications like Listening Books in partnership with Anxiety UK, provide an audiobook library service for anyone who finds reading difficult due to an illness, physical or learning disability, learning difficulty or mental health issue.

 

Best Stress Management Audiobooks

By BookAuthority

  • Finding Sisu by Katja Pantzar
  • The Fifth Agreement (A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery) by Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz, Janet Mills
  • Four Thousand Weeks (Time and How to Use it) by Oliver Burkeman
  • Escaping the Matrix (Time and How to Use it) by Edwin Harkness Spina
  • Buddha's Book of Stress Reduction (Finding Serenity and Peace with Mindfulness Meditation) by Joseph Emet, Thich Nhat Hanh
  • The Joy of Movement (How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage) by Kelly McGonigal
  • A Liberated Mind (How to Pivot Toward What Matters) by Steven C. Hayes PhD
  • Don't Bite the Hook (Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions) by Pema Chodron
  • Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
  • The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness (How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day) by Andy Puddicombe

Explore exercises and techniques to keep calm and in control when anxiety or confusion strikes.