An email dropped into my inbox a couple of weeks ago that had me intrigued. It was about a children’s book called “The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep*
The book is a number one best seller and parents have been praising it to no end. Adults too have been leaving positive reviews, stating that the book has had a positive impact on their ability to fall asleep. I’m not going to lie, the thought of a children’s book helping adults to fall asleep partly amused me. However, given the success of adult colouring in books (often thought of as a children’s activity) I was open to finding out whether this book would work for my own sleep issues.
As I am sure most of you know, sleep disturbances and fibromyalgia go hand-in-hand. Sleep is something that I admittedly have to continually work on. I have made a lot of progress with improving my sleep but issues can still rear their head. Most recently I have been having difficultly switching my off brain and getting to sleep. It somewhat amuses me that I can be chronically fatigued yet struggle to fall asleep. I know the reasons why but until they are resolved I am open to finding a solution that might help.
The author Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin is a Swedish psychologist who has turned his hand at writing a children’s book. He uses carefully researched techniques in his writings that are meant to induce sleep. Indeed, when you first open the book you will find a set of instructions that you need to follow (plus a warning about not reading near anyone driving or an activity that requires wakefulness). You are required to yawn at certain points, emphasise particular words and say some phrases calmly and slowly. Your name is also inserted at various points and I guess for children the point of this is so that they can relate to the rebellious insomniac rabbit Roger. Roger is just like you and if he can sleep, so can you!
The story itself is rather dull and boring, but I guess that’s the whole point; anything too exciting or stimulating would negate the purpose of the book. It tells the story of Roger who is a rabbit that just can’t fall asleep and includes characters such as Uncle Yawn, Heavy-Eyed Owl and Sleepy Snail. Throughout the book phrases such as “fall asleep now” are repeated and I guess the language used focusses your mind and turns your brain into sleep mode.
I wanted to give this book a fair chance and so I read it every night for a week. I even had my husband read it aloud one night, which I think he found rather amusing! I’m not going to lie, this was a bit of a chore given how uninteresting the book is. However, I cannot deny the fact that it made me feel sleepy. “The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep” did absolutely make me feel tired out and ready to sleep. I unfortunately didn’t have success with actually falling asleep though. I do wonder if this was in part due to the fact I was reading the actual book. My impressions are that the book would be great for children but that the audiobook would be preferable for adults. I imagine leaving the audiobook to play would help you drift off to sleep. You can purchase the book on Amazon.co.uk* and Amazon.com*
What do you think? Would you be open to trying this?
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions are 100% my own.
i’ve been so intrigued by this book for Little M and now I understand how it works! V interesting although sorry it couldn’t help with sleep for you. I’ve had limited success with valerian tea and magnesium spray for sleep.
I too was intruiged by it– more for the psychology aspect of it. I would def say give it a go with your little one, though I imagine it would get quite boring reading it night after night (for you). But if it works it’s magic I guess it would be worth it. I’ve never tried valerian tea so that could be worth trying thanks 🙂
Oh wow this is so interesting and intriguing! A shame it didn’t help you physically sleep but as you say, the audiobook might help you out more – do you think you’d give that a go?
Such an interesting post, loved reading it
Hazel xx
Thank you for your kind comments Hazel. I was so fascinated by the concept of a book helping people sleep. I definitely think the audio book would be a better fit for adults. Luckily I don’t think I need it. We invested in blackout curtains last week and I’ve been falling asleep much easier and staying asleep for longer too. I think the little bit of light that was getting in was enough to disrupt my sleep. I would absolutely try this if I needed to in future. I imagine it’s very calming to fall asleep to.
Hi Donna,
Neat post! I’ve included it in this week’s news roundup on my blog. http://fedupwithfatigue.com/?p=894
Donna
Thank you for sharing Donna, I really appreciate it
You’re welcome. I thought it was really interesting! I might even check it out myself. 🙂
I’d be interested in hearing how you get on if you do 🙂
That’s interesting — maybe the routine has something to do with making you sleepy every night?
That was possibly part of it! I think having a sleep routine is really helpful.