Read a poem

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.