Benefits of Audiobooks
I used to be an avid reader many years ago, especially before kids! Now I have 4 adorable children with one of those darlings now an adult. If any of you have children you might relate to how challenging it is to get the chance to read. Especially by the time it’s bedtime, Some of us don’t have the energy to stay awake reading. Daytime is spent running around doing errands, housework or working which takes away precious reading time. Plus, when I find a good book, it’s hard to put down so can spend too much time reading instead of ticking off my to-do list. Over the years, I’ve really missed not being able to read books. Until now. I’ve discovered audiobooks perhaps later than others, but I am glad I finally have. Books are now on AUDIO! Woohoo! This makes life that little bit easier, so allow me to share with you the benefits of audiobooks and show you how to incorporate them into your life.
Learning Styles
If you are reading for the benefit of learning, it can be quite a challenge for some people who don’t have an auditory style of learning. What I mean by this is, that we all have a particular learning style. The most common is visual. Many of us fit into visual but what if you have an auditory style of learning? This makes it harder if you need to read something but find it hard to concentrate due to either the content of the book or you’re struggling because you have an auditory style of learning. Until now that is. You can download audiobooks instead as an alternative to reading books. This will allow you to learn using your preferred learning style instead of struggle.
Time Management
With so many of us burning the candle at both ends, rushing from one activity to the next, we just don’t find time to sit quietly and read something of value. Having an audiobook, however, would be the perfect time to pop in the headphones and utilize our time effectively listening to an audiobook. This will help make it easier to learn something new while doing our errands.
I know people who have to travel for an hour or longer to work. Being able to listen to an audiobook will help you use your time efficiently on your way to and from work.
Holiday Travel Time
Maybe even on your holiday, you can zone out listening to an audiobook instead of taking your book everywhere with you. In particular while making your way to your destination. Whether you’re driving or the passenger, being able to listen to an audiobook can help you get the chance to listen to a book you’ve been wanting to read but haven’t had the chance as yet.
Books Are Bulky
The bulkiness of books can also be a hindrance, especially when going from one place to the other. I don’t know about you, but if I have a couple of books on the go, I don’t want to have to decide which one to take with me to work or on holiday and increase the weight of my bag. At least when you’ve got your books on your device, you can take your library of books where ever you go and they won’t weigh you down. Also, you don’t have to make a decision on which one you want to take with you. You will have to decide at some point though when you press play on your book :).
Minimalist’s Dream
Having Audiobooks can also be a minimalist’s dream! I have many friends who are minimalist. I’m sure they will be nodding their heads in agreement. Books can take up a lot of space which can be too much for a minimalist. By having them stored on your device instead, you reduce the amount of space they can take up in your home. It also means less dust :).
Vision Impaired
Having audiobooks available now is a blessing for those who are vision impaired. Audiobooks have been around for a long time for the vision impaired, however, the number of books was limited until the boom of technology.
Disinterested Readers
Did you know that there are people out there who aren’t even interested in reading? I didn’t until one of my children came under that definition. So it’s been a challenge encouraging her to read. Now, however, she can listen to books alongside her learning how to read. You might be worried that using audiobooks for children might impact their ability to learn how to read. If they are still exposed to doing the school curriculum and practicing alongside audiobooks, it can actually help build their interest in reading along with the book.
Another benefit of audiobooks is they can also help build on critical thinking. So fear not, your child can still learn valuable skills when listening to audiobooks. Audiobooks can also help improve memory and learning.
Attention span
While listening to audiobooks, one’s ability to focus is enhanced, thus increasing one’s attention span. With so many children struggling to focus, incorporating audiobooks into one’s daily routine could help improve their attention span.
Annunciation and Fluency
When listening to an audiobook you can also hear how words are said, as well as the pace and intonations of sentences. This can help build on how to read with fluency and say the words clearly. this can be helpful for children and young people, as well as those learning English as a second language.
Mental Health
As a parent, and perhaps when you were little yourself, reading to young children has a warmth and connection from the caregiver/reader who’s voice and presence is comforting as they read stories. Storytime can be a calming and comforting time for children. This fosters a love for listening to stories, as well as having a positive connection with.
Stress Relief
It helps relieve stress and takes your focus off everyday stress and thoughts around this and redirects those thoughts to what you’re listening to.
Different Senses
In a world so driven by technology and visual overstimulation using your hearing sense gives you a break from using the visual sense and helps your eyes relax.
Shifts Negativity
Our minds are flooded with negativity. By listening to audiobooks it makes us shift where our negative thoughts are focussed on and instead allows room for alternative emotions.
Heart Mindfully’s focus is within the realm of Mental Health and Wellbeing. We focus on self-love, self-care, self-awareness and being present. There are also books that can help with various aspects of one’s wellbeing and emotional health. Here are a few of the audiobooks that I feel are relevant to this website’s focus…
Final Words
So by considering getting audiobooks into your life, you will have heaps of practical benefits as well as mental health benefits to suit everyone in your family. Fear not that it takes away one’s ability to read. If anything it is a valuable tool in helping build interest in reading, increasing one’s critical thinking, and memory. Audiobooks are also time-saving and save on space.
Do you have any questions or experiences with audiobooks? Share your thoughts below.
I have used a form of Audiobooks for years. I cut grass part-time in the warmer months and like to hike also. Getting the best headphones to cancel out the noise while cutting grass and a lighter version while hiking is what I like.
Having a way to fill your mind with words while you are doing mindless tasks is a great way to educate yourself without taking up valuable time from family.
Do you think the listening device is the most important part of audiobooks?
John
Hi John, thanks for sharing your experience with audiobooks. I am impressed that you have been able to listen to audiobooks while mowing to help cut out the external noise! It sounds like you have been very productive with your time by doing two things at once. I hadn’t thought of that, thanks for sharing. I think if you have access to something that you can download the audiobooks then it’s more about being able to listen to them rather than having an expensive device. As long as it allows the listener to hear the audio. it would also depend on when you can listen to the device. Having noise-cancelling headphones would be a top priority when mowing, but not essential if you don’t have to contend with noise. As long as you can hear while listening. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
~kat
I, personally, have not used Audio Books yet. This is because I am still in love with the idea of holding an actual book. Even when I have to travel.. However, some time has passed and this technology has become the norm with some people. And, I am starting to see and as well as realize that after all it is a useful tool for some of the reasons you have mentioned in the post. Thanks for the rest of the details as well. I might now consider trying the method soon.
Hi Yama, thanks for sharing your experiences and preferences with reading. I too still enjoy having the hard copy of books but there are definitely times when listening to books using audio devices can be the preferred method. I hope you can give audiobooks at least one try and find out what it will be like for you. All the best
~kat
As a freelance audiobook director and producer, I think this post is right on the money. Despite having been invented back in the 1930s for blind veterans, it feels as if audio books are a new thing for most people. This is a great introduction for those who might find them a bit daunting. I think we forget the pleasure of having a story read or told to us once our parents stop reading bedtime stories and the like.
Hi Laura, how wonderful of you to stop by and share your thoughts about audiobooks with your level of experience :). Thanks for your lovely feedback. It certainly sounds like you can appreciate the value in having books in audio format. All the best, ~kat
Great article, Kat. I tried listening to audiobooks but somehow disliked it. However, I agree with you. There are so many benefits to this form of ‘reading.’ Call me old fashioned, but I like to read the letters and hear my own voice. That way, it’s easier for me to meditate on what I’ve read 😀
Hi Ivan, you make a fair comment. I too enjoy seeing and feeling the actual books. I also love giving books as gifts instead of a download. It’s easier to find when you want to read it. I can’t give them up either lol!
All the best,
~kat
Audio books helped me a lot. I was not the biggest fan of the concept, but after realizing you could read a book, while beeing completely relaxed, I completely changed my mind. It actually goes well with any activity, including blogging. Listening to my favorite books while being productive is a great way to go.
Also, spending time in traffic is like made for audio books. A great way to spend your time.
Have a nice day.
Hi Strahinja, thanks for sharing your experience with audiobooks. They’re perfect for communting hey! All the best
~kat
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad to see I’m not the only late bloomer when it comes to audiobooks. I just downloaded my first one last week for a solo trip out of town. While I have to say that it did make the time seem to pass faster, I am a reader at heart. I’m very visual, so when reading for pleasure I like to go slow and picture everything. I will even read a paragraph or section again just to get it right in my head. I even catch slight contradictions this way. I also found my mind drifting away. I’m sure I’ll get used to listening and will continue to incorporate audiobooks into other activities.
Haha, it’s great to see I’m not alone in getting into audiobooks later than others lol! I too enjoy reading books, but audiobooks are so convenient it’s hard to not go there. They’re such a great way to travel for sure. Thanks for sharing your first experience with audiobooks Karen, I hope you can get more and find they work well for you :).
Hi
I loved reading this as I have used audiobooks before mostly for just pleasure reading, but I love them. I have lot free time on my hands as it’s just me and my dad which is a good thing as I found fan-fiction and I fell in love with that but still enjoy a audiobook every once in awhile. This was a great article to read.
Larisa
Hi Larisa, thanks for sharing that you’ve had positive experiences with listening to audiobooks. It’s certainly good to mix it up a bit hey. All the best.
~kat
Hi, I enjoyed reading your article on the Benefits of Audiobooks. There’s a lot of helpful and interesting information about Audiobooks.
I think Audiobooks are great for children because it can help improve memory, learning, and focus to improve attention span. This also helps children to pronounce words and learning English.
Best Wishes,
Margaret
Hi Margaret, audiobooks are great for children and adults alike. It’s an excellent way to help children learn using different parts of their brain as they grow and develop. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, all the best ~kat
Hi Kat
Great post. I must admit. I haven’t started listening to audio books yet but I do listen to digital music using the earphones. While its good to listen to music I can simply use some of the time to listen to audio books instead. As you’ve outlined the benefits, I think audio books are more beneficial than just listening to music. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how to incorporate using audiobooks into your everyday life. I hope you can find a book you enjoy listening to.
All the best.
~kat