Nothing Much Happens: The new book that calms the mind before sleep

By MiNDFOOD

Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai (Allen & Unwin)
Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai (Allen & Unwin)
We know the mental and physical health benefits of a good night's sleep, that is why it is so utterly frustrating when sleep eludes you. If you struggle with sleep, a new book by Kathryn Nicolai may be what you need.

Whether you find yourself struggling to sleep, awake in the middle of the night, or even just anxious through the day, in Nothing Much Happens (Allen & Unwin), Kathryn Nicolai offers a simple way to calm the mind before bed: through the timeless appeal of bedtime stories.

The book is based on the extremely popular podcast of the same name, which has had over 10 million downloads to date. Since Nicolai was a small child, she had told herself bedtime stories to get to sleep. That is what she wanted to share through the podcast, helping adults doze off. ‘A little creative project, that’s all’, she thought. 13 episodes later, it had been listened to over a million times.

“Taking time to deliberately set aside devices and get comfortable in bed are part of a habit-making technique that tells the mind and body ‘It’s time.’ Lots of us are lying in bed at night, endlessly scrolling through upsetting news stories or reading nasty comments on social media and then trying to find a way to sleep peacefully. It is not working for most people. This is an alternative,” says Nicolai.

The 52 stories are all set in the same universe, the Village of Nothing Much, which contains comforting places like the village bakery, bookstore, cider mill, surrounding fields, an abandoned farm and so on. The book also contains advice and tricks on how to sleep and get back to sleep if you wake up in the night, as well as good ways to start your day, recipes, ideas for acts of kindness, and relaxation/meditation/yoga tips.

Nothing Much Happens by Kathryn Nicolai (Allen & Unwin)

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