You can gain a lot by reading regularly.
If you're serious about reading, you would, of course, want to know whether you should read in the morning or at night.
Rather than just picking a time randomly, it is good to find out when reading is beneficial.
Today, I will shed light on the same. I will answer one of the most important questions concerning reading. I will answer the question, should I read in the morning or at night?
I will not only answer this question but also answer FAQs related to this question.
Should I read in the morning or at night?
It is better to read in the morning. In the morning, you are normally fresh, and your concentration power is also at the maximum, so your comprehension abilities will be much higher than at night.
Besides this as well, there are quite a few reasons why you should read in the morning. I will go into the details of all these reasons below.
What time of day is best for reading?
Generally speaking, when you wake up and freshen up, right after that is an excellent time to read. During this time, distractions are at a minimum, and your concentration power is at maximum.
For example, if you wake up at 7 AM, it is a good hour to read from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. That one hour can benefit you immensely when it comes to reading.
There are reasons why it is best to read in the morning. I will highlight these below.
Why is it best to read in the morning?
There are quite a few advantages of reading in the morning. I will go into each of these advantages below.
1. Fewer distractions
In the morning, you will have lesser distractions. Whether it is social media or your family members, or your boss, the distractions are always minimal. While the world is waking up, you can finish your quota of daily reading.
The fewer distractions will mean that you can read at a comparatively faster pace and comprehend more. Less distractions are one of the primary reasons why you should read in the morning.
2. Higher concentration power
In the morning, we have maximum concentration power. To read and comprehend, you need immense concentration power. Rather than trying to muster concentration later in the day, you have to try and read when you have maximum concentration.
Concentration power ensures that you can grasp the maximum amount of knowledge and information from reading. In a single reading, you can benefit immensely. The higher concentration power is another reason to think about reading in the morning.
3. Better alternative to TV/News/Social media
What would you usually do if you're not reading early in the morning?
The answer can vary from one person to another. However, it usually revolves around:
• Browsing social media
• Watching news
• Watching sitcoms on television
All these are not beneficial for your mind and body during the morning. Most of them are negative. You will ruin your positivity and good mood when resorting to any of these in the morning.
On the other hand, when reading in the morning, you can avoid all of these. You will be able to have a better command of the day. You will not have to worry about negativity either.
Reading is undoubtedly a better alternative to these. That is why you should try and read early in the morning.
4. Procurement of new ideas
Better concentration power and positivity will allow you to procure more ideas from reading. One of the important goals of reading is to procure new ideas. By having a morning reading schedule, you can capture maximum ideas.
These ideas can certainly make a lot of difference in your life. You can achieve your goals in a much better way and also plan your day to day work in a more efficient manner.
New ideas, especially from books, can benefit you in every sphere of life. To gain this benefit, reading in the morning is a must.
5. Easy to set aside time
Have you ever tried reading during the day?
If yes, you will know that it is extremely difficult to set aside even 20 minutes to 30 minutes for reading a few pages during the day. That is because most of us are always running late on our daily schedule. In between that chaos, taking aside time for reading is simply not possible.
If you do not read in the morning, chances are you will just procrastinate on your reading habit. You won't be able to set aside those 30 minutes ever.
That is why reading in the morning is more of a necessity rather than a luxury.
6. Vocabulary expansion
One of the main benefits of reading is that you learn new words. You can imbibe those words in your vocabulary as well. Your vocabulary will go on expanding the more you read.
To learn and imbibe these words, you need to have excellent concentration power. Such concentration power is available only in the morning. You won't have any distractions in the morning as well.
Thus, when reading in the morning, you can quickly expand your vocabulary at a rapid pace.
7. Better mood
Most of us are in a great mood in the morning. That is because we do not have to deal with our work, clients, or any other life problems.
The morning time is your time. A good mood can make it easy to read and comprehend as well.
As you can see, there are numerous reasons to think about reading in the morning rather than reading at any other time of the day.
However, there are only a few circumstances in which the reading at night can benefit you. I will highlight these circumstances below.
When reading before bed is also a good idea?
There are a few circumstances in which it makes perfect sense to read at night. I will go into the details of these below.
1. Negate the effect of a terrible day
Many times, we have a bad day. If you think about that and go to sleep, you are likely to have an uneasy sleep as well. You will not be able to gain the maximum relaxing effect of sleep as well.
In such a case, if you're reading before going to sleep, it will become easier for you to divert yourself. Once you do it yourself, you can have a more comfortable sleep.
2. Relaxed sleep
Reading something positive before going to sleep can certainly help you have a more relaxed sleep. It will help you enter the deep sleeping cycle quickly. When you wake up in 8 to 9 hours, you will feel fresher.
If you're having trouble sleeping, reading something positive before going to sleep is the easiest way to solve the problem.
3. Induce positivity
You can induce more positivity in your life at any point in time. It does not matter whether it is morning, afternoon, evening, or at night. The same is true for positive reading as well.
If you're reading self-improvement personal development books, it does not matter whether you're reading at night in the morning. You can benefit immensely from them. They can induce positivity in your life.
As you can see, these are the three circumstances under which you can read during the night as well.
There are a few side effects of reading during the night. You should be aware of these before indulging in nighttime reading.
But you have to be careful when reading at night...
The side effects of reading at night include:
1. White light
If you're reading on a device like a smartphone or on an e-book reader, you will be exposed to white night light. After sunset, if you have excessive white light exposure, your sleeping cycle will get impacted. It will become tough for you to enter the deep sleep cycle.
It is one of the main disadvantages of reading at night.
2. Delay in sleeping
Many people make the mistake of delaying their sleep because of the reading habit. When you're doing so, your overall sleeping time can get reduced. Reduction in sleeping time will impact your freshness in the morning. It will, in turn, affect your focus and concentration power as well.
If you delay your sleep by reading at night, it is not a good idea to read at night.
3. Negative effect on eyesight
Reading at night requires proper illumination. Without proper illumination, it will become difficult for you to read without impacting your eyesight. Still, if you continue, there will be a negative impact on your eyesight.
You have to keep in mind these three disadvantages of reading at night. Only once you take them into account you can decide when to read.
So, should I read in the morning or at night?
Ideally, you should always read in the morning. The advantages of reading in the morning far outweigh the benefits of reading at night. If you have the choice, you should stick to morning time reading.
With my guide above, it will undoubtedly be possible for you to benefit immensely by reading in the morning.