When you finish work and the day draws to a close, many people’s evenings fill up with usual end-of-the-day tasks ranging from childcare or household chores, so it can be hard to find some respite and switch off before heading to sleep.
Celebrity audiobooks to help you rest easy
Classic relaxation routines, such as reading books, can often be too hard to focus on get into, with many turning to listening to audiobooks as an easier alternative to help them wind down in the evenings.
But does an individual’s voice impact how relaxed we feel? With a range of audiobooks on offer and many autobiographies now being narrated by the writer themselves, we wanted to find out who has the most relaxing audiobook voice.
We asked participants to listen to popular celebrity-narrated audiobooks and have them score how relaxed they felt after listening to them on a scale of one to 10. And now, the results are in!
Most relaxing celebrity voices
Our survey revealed that Sir David Attenborough reading his autobiography ‘A Life on Our Planet’ was voted as the most relaxing by participants. Best known for his nature documentaries such as ‘Planet Earth’ and the recently aired ‘Frozen Planet II’, it seems Sir David’s voice is popular for more than just TV commentary, with his audiobook ranking him as the go-to choice for the end of a stressful day.
Rank |
Autobiography |
Author |
Relaxation Score |
1 |
A Life on Our Planet |
Sir David Attenborough |
6.88 |
2 |
The Fry Chronicles |
Stephen Fry |
6.4 |
3 |
Becoming |
Michelle Obama |
6.39 |
4 |
Taste |
Stanley Tucci |
6.26 |
5 |
Reflections |
Holly Willoughby |
6.25 |
6 |
That's Another Story |
Dame Julie Walters |
6.05 |
7 |
My Thoughts Exactly |
Lily Allen |
5.89 |
8 |
The Life and Loves of a He Devil |
Graham Norton |
5.86 |
9 |
Once upon a Tyne |
Ant McPartlin, Dec Donnelly |
5.82 |
10 |
A Promised Land |
Barack Obama |
5.72 |
11 |
Humble Pie |
Gordon Ramsay |
5.65 |
12 |
Will |
Will Smith |
5.46 |
13 |
Don't Stop Believin' |
Olivia Newton-John |
5.46 |
14 |
A Different Stage |
Gary Barlow |
5.39 |
15 |
And Away... |
Bob Mortimer |
5.35 |
16 |
A Life in Parts |
Bryan Cranston |
5.19 |
17 |
Me |
Sir Elton John |
5.14 |
18 |
Total Recall |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
5.11 |
19 |
Finding Me |
Viola Davis |
4.89 |
20 |
Over the Top |
Jonathan Van Ness |
4.54 |
Most relaxing celebrity voices for men
Whilst David Attenborough tops the rankings as most relaxing for those who identify as male, Michelle Obama is close behind, with a relaxation score of 6.38 out of 10, followed by Stephen Fry with 6.25.
Stanley Tucci’s autobiography ‘Taste’ ranks in joint fourth place with ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ by British singer Lily Allen, while Dame Judie Walters rounds off the top five with a relaxation score of 6.13.
Rank |
Autobiography |
Author |
Relaxation Score |
1 |
A Life on Our Planet |
Sir David Attenborough |
6.50 |
2 |
Becoming |
Michelle Obama |
6.38 |
3 |
The Fry Chronicles |
Stephen Fry |
6.25 |
=4 |
Taste |
Stanley Tucci |
6.19 |
=4 |
My Thoughts Exactly |
Lily Allen |
6.19 |
6 |
That's Another Story |
Julie Walters |
6.13 |
7 |
A Promised Land |
Barack Obama |
6.06 |
8 |
The Life and Loves of a He Devil |
Graham Norton |
6.00 |
=9 |
Humble Pie |
Gordon Ramsay |
5.88 |
=9 |
Total Recall |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
5.88 |
11 |
Reflections |
Holly Willoughby |
5.81 |
12 |
Me |
Elton John |
5.75 |
=13 |
Once upon a Tyne |
Ant McPartlin, Dec Donnelly |
5.69 |
=13 |
Will |
Will Smith |
5.69 |
=13 |
A Different Stage |
Gary Barlow |
5.69 |
16 |
And Away... |
Bob Mortimer |
5.63 |
17 |
Don't Stop Believin' |
Olivia Newton-John |
5.50 |
18 |
Finding Me |
Viola Davis |
5.00 |
19 |
A Life in Parts |
Bryan Cranston |
4.88 |
20 |
Over the Top |
Jonathan Van Ness |
4.63 |
Most relaxing celebrity voices for women
Continuing his winning streak, Sir David also takes the crown for most soothing voice for those who identify as female. However, this time it’s Stephen Fry in second place, with a relaxation score of 6.46.
Nipping at his heels is British television presenter Holly Willoughby, whose autobiography ‘Reflections’ is a Sunday Times Bestseller.
Michelle Obama and Stanley Tucci rank in the top five as well, with relaxation scores of 6.39 and 6.29 respectively.
Rank |
Autobiography |
Author |
Relaxation Score |
1 |
A Life on Our Planet |
Sir David Attenborough |
7.02 |
2 |
The Fry Chronicles |
Stephen Fry |
6.46 |
3 |
Reflections |
Holly Willoughby |
6.41 |
4 |
Becoming |
Michelle Obama |
6.39 |
5 |
Taste |
Stanley Tucci |
6.29 |
6 |
That's Another Story |
Julie Walters |
6.02 |
7 |
The Life and Loves of a He Devil |
Graham Norton |
5.80 |
8 |
My Thoughts Exactly |
Lily Allen |
5.78 |
9 |
A Promised Land |
Barack Obama |
5.59 |
10 |
Humble Pie |
Gordon Ramsay |
5.56 |
11 |
Don't Stop Believin' |
Olivia Newton-John |
5.44 |
12 |
Once upon a Tyne |
Ant McPartlin, Dec Donnelly |
5.37 |
13 |
Will |
Will Smith |
5.37 |
14 |
A Life in Parts |
Bryan Cranston |
5.32 |
15 |
A Different Stage |
Gary Barlow |
5.27 |
16 |
And Away... |
Bob Mortimer |
5.24 |
17 |
Me |
Elton John |
4.90 |
18 |
Finding Me |
Viola Davis |
4.85 |
19 |
Total Recall |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
4.80 |
20 |
Over the Top |
Jonathan Van Ness |
4.51 |
Most relaxing celebrity voices for each age group
Irish talk show host Graham Norton sits alongside Take That singer Gary Barlow as the joint most popular audiobook voice for those aged 55+, while Stanley Tucci takes top spot as most relaxing for those in the 45-54 age bracket.
‘Smile’ singer Lily Allen is most soothing to 35–44-year-olds, while Ant and Dec help the 25–34-year-olds to wind down after a long day.
Sir David Attenborough holds the largest age gap between himself and his most prominent listening age group; 16–24-year-olds reported finding the 96-year-old TV narrator more relaxing than any other age group.
Age Group |
Most Relaxing Celebrity |
55+ |
Gary Barlow and Graham Norton |
45-54 |
Stanley Tucci |
35-44 |
Lily Allen |
25-34 |
Ant McPartlin, Dec Donnelly |
16-24 |
Sir David Attenborough |
Most relaxing celebrity voices for each region
But do people in the UK feel particularly soothed by a celebrity based on their region? Well, the study found that three celebrities are popular in more than one region: ‘This Morning’ presenter Holly Willoughby ranks as most calming in the East Midlands and South West, Sir David Attenborough tops the rankings for the East of England and North East, and former FLOTUS Michelle Obama was voted most soothing by London and the South East.
Those in the West Midlands had Austrian-American actor, producer and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice as the most relaxing, while fellow actor Will Smith was preferred by the North West of England.
Finally, actor and TV presenter Stephen Fry was most relaxing to habitants of Yorkshire and The Humber.
Region |
Most Relaxing Celebrity |
South East England |
Michelle Obama |
East of England |
Sir David Attenborough |
North West England |
Will Smith |
North East England |
Sir David Attenborough |
West Midlands |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
East Midlands |
Holly Willoughby and Viola Davis |
South West England |
Holly Willoughby |
Yorkshire & The Humber |
Stephen Fry |
Greater London |
Michelle Obama |
If you’re looking for more ways to rest easy, improve your sleep or to enjoy a relaxing getaway, book a room with us today.
Methodology:
We surveyed 54 UK participants who listened to 20 five-minute samples of popular celebrities’ autobiographies using Audible. They then rated each on a scale of one to 10 of how relaxing they found them. A mean score from each celebrity was then taken in order to rank who participants found the most relaxing.