14 min

Read a poem Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley

    • Health & Fitness

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Reading poetry can reduce stress and help give you words to express the things you're feeling. And reading a poem out loud has been shown to be a surprisingly simple way to activate your relaxation response and bring about a sense of calm. It’s all to do with the way it slows and controls your breathing rate, which in turn stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and can lead to many beneficial effects. Michael Mosley speaks to Dietrich von Bonin from the Swiss Association of Art Therapies, who says as little as 5 minutes of rhythmic poetry read aloud can be even more effective than slow-paced breathing at relaxing your body and mind. Our volunteer Colm dives into the world of Irish poetry and incorporates reading it aloud into his bedtime routine.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Editor: Zoë Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.

Reading poetry can reduce stress and help give you words to express the things you're feeling. And reading a poem out loud has been shown to be a surprisingly simple way to activate your relaxation response and bring about a sense of calm. It’s all to do with the way it slows and controls your breathing rate, which in turn stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and can lead to many beneficial effects. Michael Mosley speaks to Dietrich von Bonin from the Swiss Association of Art Therapies, who says as little as 5 minutes of rhythmic poetry read aloud can be even more effective than slow-paced breathing at relaxing your body and mind. Our volunteer Colm dives into the world of Irish poetry and incorporates reading it aloud into his bedtime routine.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Editor: Zoë Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.

14 min

Top Podcasts In Health & Fitness

Huberman Lab
Scicomm Media
The Dr. John Delony Show
Ramsey Network
Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin
Dr. Andy Galpin
The School of Greatness
Lewis Howes
Passion Struck with John R. Miles
John R. Miles
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
iHeartPodcasts

More by BBC

Global News Podcast
BBC World Service
6 Minute English
BBC Radio
In Our Time
BBC Radio 4
You're Dead to Me
BBC Radio 4
Newshour
BBC World Service
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley
BBC Radio 4