How Is Reading in the Morning Benefitting You?

Finding the time to read is a challenge nowadays, that is for sure. Our lives are now more hectic than ever before, despite us being alive in the most comfortable times in our history. 

While simply finding the time is a problem in itself, it is also important to always maximize the little free time we have so that we can get as much reading as possible done in the shortest amount of time. 

Could reading in the morning be a solution? Well, let’s find out.

Is reading in the morning good?

First of all, reading is amazing for you regardless of the time of day you do it. Reading has countless health benefits that extend to mental well being as well, so whether you do it in the morning, in the evening, on your commute to work, you should know that it is an amazing favor you’re doing to yourself.

Now if we refer specifically to morning reading, the answer is a resounding yes! Early morning reading can give your day an amazing start, it can help you take on everything the rest of the day throws at you with greater confidence and it is actually a pretty fun activity.

While some cannot even conceive of doing anything else other than drinking coffee early in the morning, you should know that reading in the morning is good for you, and we will explore all its benefits in a second. 

What are the benefits of reading in the morning?

Out of the dozens of reasons why you should be reading every morning, we managed to find a way to only present the ones we think are the most important for you. We know that motivation is hard to find, especially early in the morning, but I am sure these benefits will give you a little nudge in the right direction.

You are rested and can retain more information

While it may not seem that way every day, mornings are the parts of the day you have the most energy in. You are well rested, and your brain is in peak condition for learning or information retention. 

A fresh mind can achieve a lot more than a tired one. This doesn’t mean you should only read your textbooks in the morning. Even if you don’t have something specific you need to learn, simply having a nice read from a cool novel can leave you remembering a lot more about the characters and the action than you would in other parts of the day.

You get a chance to learn something new in the early hours of the day

Reading is a great learning tool. Regardless of what we decide to read, chances are that we are going to learn something new. Whether it’s details about what life was like a couple of centuries ago, some new words or a new quote we plan to use later, the learning we do from books is hard to match.

That being said, learning something new early in the morning can be a huge achievement and one that skyrockets your day in terms of other things you decide to learn. Having this feeling that you can achieve anything is what makes the difference between you will never want to forget and one you won’t care if you remember or not.

You stimulate your brain early in the day

While they couldn’t be any more different from a physiological point of view, our brain and our muscles have a lot in common. Just like our muscles work best if we exercise every day, our brain needs its own workout if we want to have it in tip top shape for as long as humanly possible. 

Well, reading in the morning does to your brain what a morning run does to the rest of your body. It helps you get ready for the rest of the day and whatever it will throw at you.

Reading is mindfulness 

Reading is a form of mindfulness. Practicing it early in the morning is the equivalent of a session of guided meditation if you manage to get in the right mood. Obviously this can have a hugely positive impact on how your day takes off. With just a couple of minutes of reading early in the morning, you could decide the faith of your day right then and there.

You get a great start of the day

I don’t know about you, but for me, the first two hours of every morning play a huge role in how the rest of my day will go. So anything that can help establish a healthy and pleasant routine for our mornings is pretty valuable. 

I can’t think of many other activities that can have a more positive impact on a person’s mental well-being than picking up a book and letting oneself be captivated by its content. 

On top of this, reading can improve your mood, which we all know is kind of touch and go in the morning. Reading is fun, relaxing and rewarding. Why would you do anything else with your mornings?

Reading in the morning or at night?

Like I was saying earlier, reading is great for you regardless when or where you decide to do it. Whether it’s early in the morning or late at night, I can tell you right off the bat that you’re doing yourself a favor. 

While both are great for you, it’s important to know exactly what benefits reading early in the morning and reading at night come with. That way you can choose the one that matches your style and helps you better achieve your goals. 

Reading in the morning is better for information retention

If you’re reading with the purpose of learning a new skill, or as part of your studying process, reading in the morning could be the better choice for you. Since your mind is fresh, you are well rested and ready for a new day and a new set of challenges, reading in the morning can help you learn more, quicker. You will retain more information and you will find it a lot easier to understand new concepts. 

Reading at night can help you sleep better

Even though some claim that reading at night is a good way of learning new things as well, since a great part of the memory consolidation happens while we sleep, no studies have been carried out to prove this yet. What we know for sure about night reading is that it helps a lot with falling asleep and getting a good night’s sleep.

Among other things, that’s also because reading keeps us away from our screens, which emit blue light, a type of light that makes it particularly hard for us to disconnect and fall asleep. On top of this, reading has been proven to play a huge role in relieving stress, lowering blood pressure and heart rate, which makes it a lot easier to fall asleep.

Morning reads put you one step closer to your goals

There’s an old habit recommended by successful people: make your bed as soon as you wake up, because that means you would have accomplished a task before you are out of the bedroom. And this sets the tone for the rest of your day. The same is true when it comes to reading.

Spending a couple of minutes reading every morning sets the tone for a successful day. Especially if what you’re reading is a self-help book, starting your day with some wisdom that is targeted to your own personal goals is an amazingly beneficial and effective thing to do. 

Having the right mindset is extremely important, regardless of the goals you are trying to achieve and reading in the morning is extremely effective in helping you have that mindset.

Night reading can be a reward for the day that just passed

For some, reading late at night is their way of rewarding themselves for the day’s achievements. It is a relaxing and rewarding activity that is well deserved after a long day. Since any reason for reading is a valid one, using it as a way of rewarding yourself is obviously more than acceptable.

In the end, reading in the morning vs night reading is a battle that can only be settled by each individual on his own. Depending on the purpose of your reading, the books you read and what you are like as a person, both night reading and morning reading may be perfectly fine for you. Why not try both?

How to become a morning reading person?

If you decided that reading in the morning is right for you, but you haven’t used your morning for this by now, getting started may be a little tricky. You are in luck though, because we know all the tips and tricks that can make you a morning reader in no time.

Use Basmo to set your goals

The first thing you need to do is to find your motivation and set yourself the right goals.

Reading schedule 

The next thing you need to do is set a schedule for your morning reading sessions. This will help you a lot with staying organized and Basmo can again help out a lot.

Build your reading habits

Maintaining a reading schedule with Basmo will help you slowly and steadily build a healthy reading habit. Repeating an action enough times will turn it into a daily routine and this is the turning point you need. As soon as reading in the morning starts feeling like something usual, that is where you start winning. 

Choose a book that can keep you engaged

Beginnings are always hard, so you will need all the help you can get in order to turn morning reading into a life lasting habit. 

At first, it is recommended to choose an engaging book, a real page turner which will make it easy for you to start reading in the morning and hard to stop. Even though morning reading sessions are usually great for tougher reads because your mind is rested and you can focus better, there’s no shame in starting slow.

Read something you know you’ll love and slowly work your way up towards tougher morning reads.

Associate reading with your morning coffee

One sure way of building healthy habits is to associate them with other actions that are already part of your routine. Set yourself the goal of always reading when you drink your morning coffee for example. Once your brain starts associating coffee with reading, your habit will have settled in. 

Don’t turn on the TV until you’re done with your reading

Distractions should be kept at a minimum whenever your morning reading sessions are ongoing. Even though we’re all used to turning on the TV once we wake up to check the news and the weather forecast, it would be best to delay turning on the TV until your reading session is over. 

Prepare everything the night before

Another very important way of building healthy habits, in general, is to make things as easy as possible for us. Just as you are more likely to eat a piece of fruit every day if they are sitting on a table right in front of you, reading in the morning will be a lot easier for you if your book is already waiting for you next to your coffee mug when you wake up in the morning. 

What books to read in the morning?

First, you should read easy, fun books. Bestsellers, page turners and anything else you know you will find easy to read. This is essential when your morning reading habit is in its early days. Making the effort of starting to read early in the day is tough enough, you don’t need to make things even harder by trying to overachieve with the titles you choose.

Once your habit is starting to feel like routine, you can work your way up to self-help books. They are also pretty easy to read, but they also open the door for you to tougher reads that will follow.

When you are comfortable taking full advantage of the fact that your brain is fresh in the mornings, you can start reading harder books like old classics or even textbooks you need to study or books that teach you new skills.

Final thoughts

Reading in the morning can be an amazing experience and can help you maximize your information retention potential. The key is to start slow and to use the right tools to allow the habit to settle in. Basmo can be extremely helpful in this journey.

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