Over the next six months I listened to loads of different sleep podcasts, discarding also-rans and adding contenders to my nightly rotations. There are a few different types, and you’ll probably have to shuffle through a few to see which works best for you. The most common style are story readings, either classics or new, specially written low-stakes scenes that aim to lead you gently into dreams – though there are a fair few that deploy mindfulness techniques and immersive soundscapes too

It’s a tricky balance to strike. They have to be interesting enough that you want to melt into the sound-world they create, but they have to be dull enough not to rev you up so much you can’t drop off. They need to be welcoming, but not overfamiliar. Almost by default, they’re oddly sensual experiences – someone is whispering in your ear as you lie in bed, after all – but they must be in absolutely no way alluring. Having said that, Audible got Matthew McConaughey for theirs and that didn’t do them any harm. Anyway: here are seven of the best.

The Sleeping Forecast

The Shipping Forecast is a widely prescribed sedative, but if you’re listening to Radio 4 at 00.47 you’ve got to be conked out pretty quickly before ‘God Save the Queen’ comes thundering in at 1am. Fortunately, BBC Sounds married extracts of it with neoclassical piano pieces in its hour-long piece, part of its Mindful Mix strand.

The smooth, lilting baritone of British-Jamaican announcer Neil Nunes is the perfect voice to hear gently reciting the liturgy of mythic places around the British Isles’ coastline: Fitzroy, Cromarty, German Bight. Producer Freddie Botham told me that Nunes was always his first choice. “There’s something about lower frequencies and Neil Nunes’s voice,” he said. “They are naturally comforting – there’s a womb-like aspect.” Listen now on your podcast app >>

Get Sleepy

From a slightly pokey walk-in wardrobe somewhere in Buckinghamshire, 27-year-old Thomas Jones reads specially written sleep stories in an even, soothing tone. Get Sleepy’s stories come in a few flavours. Some take you to different places around the world, like the Costa Brava or Nova Scotia; others take you to different places in time, perhaps Roman Colchester or Ancient Athens. There are new spins on folk tales and comforting retellings of how crayons or love heart sweets or the Pony Express came into being. It’s just added a new strand, too – The Sleepy Bookshelf, which features readings of classic stories and started with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Phoebe Reads a Mystery

The title’s a tiny little bit misleading here. What started with a reading of Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles became an anthology of full readings of classic novels including Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Sense and Sensibility and, amazingly, over 44 episodes, Jane Eyre. There’s been a year’s hiatus but the show is back, and also boasts a big back-catalogue to dig into. You’d never think that Dracula could make for a good bedtime story, but it really works. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Nothing Much Happens

Yoga and meditation teacher Kathryn Nicolai narrates little tales of perfectly formed mundanity. You’ll pop to the bakery, wander around a village looking for a gift for a friend’s housewarming, and revisit the first few months of a lifelong friendship. This is a great big cuddle of a podcast, and Nicolai’s whispered delivery is as calming as they come. Listen now on your podcast app >>

The Audible Sleep Collection

This was one of Audible’s biggest sellers in 2020, and it encompasses two strands: stories and meditations. The selling point here, that the stories are read by well known voices, seems a little bit self-defeating. How, you might ask, am I meant to sleep when Matthew McConaughey is reading to me? Me! Matthew McConaughey! A bedtime story! The meditations are more amorphous and rambling, and feature the likes of Diddy giving you affirmations and Nick Jonas rhapsodising about the perfect baseball swing. It is, however, undeniably effective. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Sleep Cove

Another podcast that mixes voyages into the past with factoids and meditative breathing exercises which encourage you to find sleep through mindfulness, this one also adds guided sleep hypnosis episodes into the mix. The idea is that narrator Christopher Fitton leads you gently into a state of readiness for sleep. It’s somewhere between mindfulness and general wellness, a more active experience than whacking on a story and waiting until you drop off. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Send Me To Sleep

Now, this one comes with a warning: narrator and pro voice actor Andrew’s reading style is a bit of an acquired taste. His slightly halting delivery can take a little getting used to, but it clearly works for a lot of people. He reads stories ranging from Ancient Greek fables and Shakespearean adaptations to The Phantom of the Opera and The Time Machine. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Boring Books for Bedtime

Dropping off while someone with a calming voice reads to you from a book that’s just interesting enough to hold your brain’s attention, but not so interesting you want to hear any more than you absolutely have to. Maybe it’s just me, but not all of the out-of-copyright books read here sound boring – PT Barnum’s autobiography? A history of the art of firework making? Oscar Wilde on English art? Sign me up! – but presenter Sharon’s semi-whispered style render everything she reads deeply soothing. Listen now on your podcast app >>

Podcast to Fall Asleep To

This is about as Ronseal a podcast name as you’re ever likely to find, and much like that celebrated wood stain it gets the job done with minimal fuss. Host Jimmy Jo softly and patiently talks about different topics which are, by his own admission, “both unimportant and uninteresting”. Most recently it was pets – specifically his cats, who have become producers on the show. Jimmy Jo’s murmurings have been less frequent over the last year, but there’s a back catalogue of 161 episodes to curl up with. Listen now on your podcast app >>

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Looking for a podcast for children struggling to sleep? Check out our interview with Kerry Keenan, who created Your Floating Bed >>

This article was first published in August 2021 and updated August 2023.

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The theme for this year’s World Book Night on April 23rd is Books That Make You Smile, and with the joy-giver (and podcaster) that is Sandi Toksvig as Lead Ambassador, it’s clear they’re on a mission to keep our spirits up.

In a pretty rubbish year, novels have been a lifeline for those of us not only stuck inside our homes but our heads too. For World Book Night, alongside online events and readings, The Reading Agency are giving away 100,000 books to organisations across the UK as a celebration of reading, and to highlight its power and benefits to wellbeing.

Reading for mental health

It was a teacher who first recommended that I plunge myself into a novel when I was struggling with a bout of depression in my teens. Make no mistake, I definitely needed some form of professional care but, in the circumstances, a novel was the next best thing. But for those of us who struggle with mental health issues or low mood, starting a book can sometimes feel like another way of setting ourselves up for failure.

I started The Dabbler’s Book Club in 2019 to force myself to read one book every fortnight (or so!) and then to talk about it (when all I usually want to do is stay on the sofa watching Friends for the millionth time). Since March 2020 this simple habit has been so valuable,- and it’s about so much more than the books. The conversation that the podcast allows is just as important and not only gives a sense of completion after turning the final page, it’s left me feeling closer to my partner and our listeners.

In our first episode, my co-host and partner Curtis Nice joked that “our counsellor said it would be good for us”. Three series later, it’s actually very clear to see how it has been.

5 book podcasts for non-bookish people

To get you in a bookish mood without taking you back to the dread of English class and feeling like the poorly-read idiot, here are my top five book podcasts if you don’t think you’re particularly bookish.

These are book podcasts that aim to include everyone. They keep conversation light and inclusive, away from the academic styles we might have been used to at school or university, and they’re a great reminder that books really are for everyone.

Books are gifts authors share with the world; podcasting about books is the gift we can give ourselves and our listeners. There’s really nothing better.

Women’s Prize for Fiction Podcast

Presented by journalist and author Yomi Agedoke, guests including Elizabeth Day, Sara Pascoe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie celebrate the best books written by women. They discuss the year’s shortlisted titles and talk about what the future holds for women writing today. This might seem like a very bookish podcast, but the Women’s Prize for Fiction aims for inclusivity and accessibility. The conversations are celebratory and heartfelt, and will inspire you to read more women authors. Listen now on Acast >>

You Heard It Here First

A recommendation show to help you discover your next podcast, audiobook or drama listen. Host Imriel Morgan cherry-picks highlights from Audible’s extensive audio catalogue, with the help of listeners, authors and Audible editors. Expect honest recommendations, laughs and listens you never knew existed – and to be welcomed in with open arms to our family of podcast, audiobook and audio drama lovers. A pocket-sized podcast of 30-minute episodes, it features a diverse list of books and guests, giving you a great overview of the book world outside the traditional bestseller lists. Listen on Audible or elsewhere.

Book Shambles

Book Shambles is an easy-going podcast that’s been running in one form or other since 2015. Using books as a jumping off point, hosts Josie Long and Robin Ince invite a different special guest each week to dive into interesting, passionate and shambolic discussions. Recent interviews include Marian Keyes, Nell Frizzell and Katy Wix. [It’s also one of Eddie Izzard’s favourite podcasts! – ED] Listen now on Acast >>

Book Cheat Podcast

Admittedly, Book Cheat isn’t quite in the World Book Night spirit of encouraging everyone to read… but it does tap into the sense that we’re all playing catch up when it comes to books – especially the classics. This is a fun podcast where host Dave Warneke reads the book so you don’t have to. Each episode Dave tells two special guests all about a classic novel or play, and by the end of the show, both you and they can pretend you’ve read it. From Austen to Tolstoy, Shakespeare to Hemingway… Dave lets you devour a classic in a single sitting. Listen now on Acast >>

The Dabblers’ Book Club

And of course, I’m including mine at the end because not only is it pretty good, but it also embodies so many things I’m passionate about. Working-class and state-school voices in literary criticism, and authentic, un-sanitised conversation that gives space for different perspectives and experiences. Non-stuffy book chat and funny one-star reviews. We’re a book podcast for people who like reading but don’t always feel qualified to talk about it. Maybe you went to state school or haven’t read any of the greats but still want to talk about books in a normal way. Just about every fortnight, my co-host Curtis and I read and have a fairly sweary chat about a novel, while incorporating our own anecdotes and life experiences. Guest special episodes feature interviews with the likes of Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart and barrister and author Hashi Mohamed. Listen on Acast now >>

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