For this week’s mindfulness exercise, I chose to explore reading and the benefits of dedicated time to daily practice. I have always found reading to be meditative for me, in the sense that I am able to lose myself entirely in novels and not have any other thoughts than those generated from the text. Reading has always been a form of relaxation for me, however when school gets hectic I often lose time for personal reading. By making it the focus of my free inquiry this week, I was elated to get back into it.
I initially planned to buy a book about mindfulness to read, however I felt as though my initiative to read would be lowered if I wasn’t truly tempted by my book choice. Instead, I dedicated at least 30 minutes at night to books of my choice. I ended up switching between two, “The Prophet” by Khalil Ghibran, and “City of Girls” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I must say, I told myself that it would be at least 30 minutes a day, but it often turned into much longer stints of time.
By “forcing” myself to read at night, I found myself fostering other habits that helped to relax my mind and reduce overall anxiety. Instead of spending 20 minutes at the end of the night on social media, I was able to get out of my head and delve into different fictional worlds.
A quick google search produced a plethora of research into the benefits of reading, in particular as a nighttime routine. Some of the benefits include better sleep, increased memory, and most importantly reduced anxiety. For me, mindfulness is the ability to be present and focused totally at whatever you are doing in a particular moment; this nighttime habit helped me to be more mindful not only during my nightly reads but throughout the following day.
Resources used:
https://www.bustle.com/p/6-reasons-you-should-start-reading-every-night-before-bed-42635
