Bedtime Stories for Older Adults

We’ve been talking a lot about bedtime stories around here. Of course, when you think of them, you immediately think about bedtime stories for kids. But bedtime stories for older adults is definitely a thing too. You just may not call them that.

For the most part, older adults like the same kinds of bedtime stories as any other adults do. But there might be a few differences here and there.

Maybe the difference has a lot to do with what kind of older adult we mean. Is it AARP’s definition of 50+? Are we talking about seniors, retirees, the aging, the aged, elderly, geriatric? The Silent Generation, or Baby Boomers, or even early Gen Xers? Wow, so many different words, meanings, and connotations. One thing’s for sure, though. There’s a bedtime story for everyone.

Podcasts Make Great Bedtime Stories

While a magazine or a good book is a great way to read yourself to sleep, podcasts have become increasingly popular for when you want to be lulled by something you don’t have to read yourself. Something that allows you to close your eyes and have someone else – you know – tell you a story.

Popular with those who remember radio’s golden age, also known as the 1930s and 1940s, Relic Radio features original radio programs many seniors will remember from your youth. There’s something for everyone, including comedy, thrillers, science fiction, and spooky strange tales.

Another similar website, although not an actual podcast, is Old Time Radio Downloads. This site allows you choose and download specific episodes, or you can simply stream right from the website. There are thousands of classic radio shows from the late 1920s through the early 1950s. You can enjoy the nostalgia of listening to your old favorite radio shows with great performers like Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, Orson Welles, Arlene Dahl, Steve Allen, and hundreds more.

A podcast that tags itself as “amazing life stories of great old characters” is Two Cups of Tea. Host Chris Heath features people in their golden years, allowing them to tell, in their own words, about their extraordinary lives. And if you have an extraordinary life story of your own, Chris encourages you to contact him on his website.

Bedtime Stories for People with Dementia

A special group of people – mostly older, but not always – also get great benefits from stories, whether bedtime or not. These are people living with degenerative brain disease, including Alzheimer’s or one of the many other forms of dementia.

There’s evidence that people in the early and middle stages of their progression can continue to enjoy reading, especially if they have been avid readers through their lives. They may have to go back and read things again to fully understand or make connections. They may also need less complex reading materials as their disease progresses.

Some people in the late stage seem to continue to get pleasure from reading. It’s not entirely clear whether they can still read or comprehend the words, or if it’s just gratifying to hold a book in their hands and turn the pages just like they always have. It seems clear that they are not likely to remember what they’ve read or be able to follow a complex storyline. But if just handling books gives them pleasure, keeps their attention, and calms them, that’s a win.

It doesn’t have to be the case that any of us read bedtime stories ourselves. Just like anyone of any other age, people with dementia can get a huge benefit from being read to.

This can take the form of a family member reading short, simple stories or poetry to their loved one. It could be a professional caregiver reading one-on-one to a care recipient or to a small group in a care community.

Another wonderful activity some adult day programs or care communities offer is for a group of participants to read aloud to each other in small groups. This provides a social activity and an opportunity for each person to bond with the others over stories, even clapping, cheering, and offering “well-done” for each other’s turn reading. It often triggers memories and sparks fun conversations and laughter for the group.

What could be better than that?