Reading philosophy before bed
Ending the day on a page or two of philosophy, then thinking it over before sleep
A short stretch of reading last thing at night, taken from philosophy rather than news or work. Usually it is the same handful of books in rotation, opened anywhere, with no target page count. The point is not to finish anything but to pick up one or two ideas and turn them over while falling asleep. People who keep the habit describe that as self-examination rather than study. It doubles as a way of getting off screens before bed. Anyone who finds the material a chore tends to drop it within a week, so the usual advice is to read whichever tradition you actually find interesting.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Naval RavikantDoes it
Angel investor · AngelList and the Naval podcast
Schopenhauer, Krishnamurti, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching: one of them is always going, usually a reread, and he reads at night before sleep. He picks up one or two things to reflect on afterward. It is not a formula, he says, and he only does it because the material genuinely interests him.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #473 transcript: Naval Ravikant on Happiness and Reducing Anxiety
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Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.