Boring Books for Bedtime Readings to Help You Sleep

Sharon Handy reads old, mildly interesting nonfiction in a calm, steady voice for about 50 minutes per episode, and that's the whole show. The material ranges from Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species to Vitruvius's Ten Books on Architecture to a 19th-century guide about dogs. The trick is in the selection: the books are just interesting enough that your brain latches on instead of spiraling, but not so gripping that you stay awake to find out what happens next. Handy reads everything herself with no AI narration, and her delivery is clear and even without being monotone to the point of being robotic. The show is completely ad-free, which is a significant detail for insomnia listeners since nothing kills the drift-off quite like a loud mattress commercial. With 385 episodes and a 4.6-star rating from over 1,200 reviews, the back catalog is massive enough that you won't run out of content anytime soon. New episodes drop weekly. Listeners consistently report that the combination of Handy's voice, the deliberately unexciting subject matter, and the lack of interruptions makes this one of the most effective sleep podcasts they've tried. It's especially good for people who find guided meditations annoying or sleep stories too contrived. Sometimes you just need someone reading about the architecture of ancient Roman aqueducts.