Iceland | Peaceful Bedtime Reading For Sleep

Relax with this calm bedtime reading designed to ease insomnia and help you sleep. Drift off as you explore the serene landscapes and fascinating history of Iceland in this soothing episode. You’ll learn about the island’s volcanic origins, Nordic heritage, and modern culture, all at a gentle pace perfect for winding down. Benjamin’s peaceful voice guides you through the facts—no whispering, no hypnosis—just calm, educational storytelling to help you manage stress, anxiety, or sleeplessness. Press play and settle in for a restful journey through Iceland. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast where I help you drift off one fact at a time.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is about Iceland.

Iceland is a Nordic island country between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean,

Located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Europe and North America.

It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the region's western-most and most sparsely populated country.

Its capital and largest city is Reykjavik,

Which is home to about 36% of the country's roughly 390,

000 residents,

Excluding nearby towns,

Suburbs,

Which are separate municipalities.

The official language of the country is Icelandic.

Iceland is on a rift between tectonic plates,

And its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent volcanic eruptions.

The interior consists of a volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields,

Mountains and glaciers,

And many glacial rivers flow to the seas through the lowlands.

Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate,

Despite being at a latitude just south of the Arctic Circle.

Its latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly and most of its islands have a polar climate.

According to the ancient manuscript Landnamabok,

The settlement of Iceland began in 874 A.

D.

,

When the Norwegian chieftain Ingólf Arnarson became the island's first permanent settler.

In the following centuries,

Norwegians,

And to a lesser extent other Scandinavians,

Immigrated to Iceland,

Bringing with them thralls of Gaelic origin.

The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament,

The Alþink,

One of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies.

After a period of civil strife,

Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century.

In 1397,

Iceland followed Norway's integration into the Kalmar Union,

Along with the kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden,

Coming under de facto Danish rule upon its dissolution in 1523.

The Danish kingdom introduced Lutheranism by force in 1550,

And the Treaty of Kiel formally ceded Iceland to Denmark in 1814.

Influenced by ideals of nationalism after the French Revolution,

Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in the Danish-Icelandic Act of Union in 1918,

With the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland,

Sharing through a personal union the incumbent monarch of Denmark.

During the occupation of Denmark in World War II,

Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become a republic in 1944,

Ending the remaining formal ties to Denmark.

Although Alþink was suspended from 1799 to 1845,

Iceland nevertheless has a claim to sustaining one of the world's longest-running parliaments.

Until the 20th century,

Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture.

Industrialization of the fisheries and marshal plan aid after World War II brought prosperity,

And Iceland became one of the world's wealthiest and most developed nations.

In 1950,

Iceland joined the Council of Europe.

In 1994,

It became a part of the European Economic Area,

Further diversifying its economy into sectors such as finance,

Biotechnology,

And manufacturing.

Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries,

As well as the highest trade union membership in the world.

It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education.

Iceland ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance,

Such as quality of life,

Education,

Protection of civil liberties,

Government transparency,

And economic freedom.

It has the smallest population of any NATO member,

And is the only one with no standing army,

Possessing only a lightly armed coast guard.

The land number book names Nathos as the first Norseman to reach Ireland in the 9th century,

Having gotten lost while sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands.

He gave the island its first name of Snæland,

In English,

It's snow land.

The second one to arrive was the Swedish Garthur Svarvarsson,

Who circumnavigated the island and named it Garthur Sjölmer,

After himself.

The island's present name originated from Floki Viliarsarsson,

The first Norseman to intentionally travel to Iceland.

According to sagas of Icelanders,

Floki coined the name after he climbed a mountain,

Despondent after a harsh winter in present-day Vatnsfjörður,

And saw an ice cap.

The notion that Iceland's settlers chose that name to discourage competing settlements is most likely a myth.

According to both Landnamabók and Íslandnabók,

Monks known as the Popper lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived,

Possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission.

An archaeological excavation has revealed the ruins of a cabin in Hafnir on the Reykjanes peninsula.

Carbon dating indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880.

In 2016,

Archaeologists uncovered a long house in Stasirfjörður that may date to as early as 800.

Swedish Viking explorer Garthur Svarvarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and established that it was an island.

He stayed during the winter and built a house in Húsavík.

Garthur departed the following summer,

But one of his men,

Náðfari,

Decided to stay behind with two slaves.

Náðfari settled in what is now known as Náðfarvik,

And he and his slaves became the first documented permanent residents of Iceland.

The Norwegian Norse chieftain Ingulfur Arnarsson built his homestead in present-day Reykjavík in 874.

Ingulfur was followed by many other emigrant settlers,

Larger Scandinavians and their thralls,

Many of whom were Irish or Scottish.

By 930,

Most arable land on the island had been claimed.

The Alþing,

A legislative and judicial assembly,

Was initiated to regulate the Icelandic Commonwealth.

The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the settlement of Greenland,

Starting in 986.

The period of these early settlements coincided with the medieval warm period,

When temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century.

At this time,

About 25% of Iceland was covered with forest,

Compared to 1% in present day.

Christianity was adopted by consensus around 999 to 1000,

Although Norse paganism persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward.

The Icelandic Commonwealth,

Established in the 10th century,

Faced internal strife during the Age of Stirlings,

Circa 1220-1264.

This period was marked by violent conflicts among chieftains,

Notably the Stirling family,

Leading to the weakening of the Commonwealth's political structure.

The culmination of these struggles resulted in the signing of the Old Covenant.

In 1262-1264,

Bringing Iceland under Norwegian rule.

Environmental challenges further impacted medieval Icelandic society.

Upon settlement,

Approximately 25-40% of Iceland was forested.

However,

Extensive deforestation occurred as forests were cleared for timber,

Firewood,

And to create grazing land for livestock.

This led to significant soil erosion and a decline in arable land,

Exacerbating the difficulties of sustaining agriculture in Iceland's harsh climate.

Agriculture during this period was predominantly pastoral,

Focusing on livestock such as sheep,

Cattle,

And horses.

While early settlers cultivated barley,

The cooling climate from the 12th century onwards made grain cultivation increasingly difficult.

The Little Ice Age,

Beginning around 1300,

Brought colder and more unpredictable weather,

Further shortening growing seasons and making farming more challenging.

The Black Deaths reached Iceland in 1402-1404,

And again in 1494-1495,

With devastating effects.

The first outbreak is estimated to have killed 50-60% of the population,

While the second resulted in a 30-50% mortality rate.

These pandemics significantly reduced the population,

Leading to social and economic disruptions.

In 1830,

Olof II of Denmark became King of Norway on his father's death.

Denmark and Norway were thus united in personal union and ruled from Denmark.

This was further solidified in the formation of the Kalmar Union in 1397.

Through this,

Iceland as a Norwegian possession came to be ruled by Denmark.

Around the middle of the 16th century,

As part of the Protestant Reformation,

King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all of his subjects.

Iceland became officially Lutheran,

And Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion.

In the 17th and 18th centuries,

Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland.

Natural disasters,

Including volcanic eruptions and disease,

Contributed to a decreasing population.

In 1814,

Following the Napoleonic Wars,

Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel.

But Iceland remained a Danish dependency.

Throughout the 19th century,

The country's climate continued to grow colder,

Resulting in mass emigration to the New World,

Particularly to the region of Gimli,

Manitoba,

And Canada,

Which is sometimes referred to as New Iceland.

About 15,

000 people emigrated out of a total population of 70,

000.

A national consciousness arose in the first half of the 19th century,

Inspired by romantic and nationalistic ideas from mainland Europe.

An Icelandic independence movement took shape in the 1850s under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson,

Based on the burgeoning Icelandic nationalism,

Inspired by the Fjallnæssmenn and other Danish-educated Icelandic intellectuals.

In 1874,

Poet and clergyman Mattias Jakobsson wrote the lyrics of Lovsungur,

Which became the Icelandic national anthem.

Composer Sveinbjorn Sveinbjornsson wrote the music.

In 1874,

Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and limited home rule.

This was expanded in 1904,

And Hannes Hofstein served as the first minister for Iceland in the Danish cabinet.

The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union,

An agreement with Denmark signed on the 1st of December 1918 and valid for 25 years,

Recognized Iceland as a fully sovereign and independent state in a personal union with Denmark.

The government of Iceland established an embassy in Copenhagen and requested that Denmark carry out on its behalf certain defense and foreign affair matters.

Subject to consultation was the Altsink.

Danish embassies around the world displayed two coats of arms and two flags,

Those of the Kingdom of Denmark and those of the Kingdom of Iceland.

Iceland's legal position became comparable to those of countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations,

Such as Canada,

Whose sovereign is King Charles III.

During World War II,

Iceland joined Denmark in asserting neutrality.

After the German occupation of Denmark on the 9th of April 1940,

The Altsink replaced the king with a regent and declared that the Icelandic government would take control of its own defense and foreign affairs.

A month later,

British armed forces conducted Operation Fork,

Invasion and occupation of the country,

Violating Icelandic neutrality.

In 1941,

The government of Iceland,

Friendly to Britain,

Invited the then-neutral United States to take over its defense so that Britain could use its troops elsewhere.

On December 31,

1943,

The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years.

Beginning on the 20th of May 1944,

Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate the personal union with Denmark,

Abolish the monarchy,

And establish a republic.

The vote was 97% to end the union,

And 95% in favor of the new republican constitution.

Iceland formally became a republic on the 17th of June 1944,

With Svein Bjornsson as its first president.

In 1946,

The U.

S.

Defense Force left Iceland.

The nation formally became a member of NATO on the 30th of March 1949,

Amid domestic controversy and riots.

On the 5th of May 1951,

A defense agreement was signed with the United States.

American troops returned to Iceland as the Iceland Defense Force and remained throughout the Cold War.

The U.

S.

Withdrew the last of its forces on the 30th of September 2006.

Iceland prospered during the Second World War.

The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth,

Driven by the industrialization of the fishing industry and the U.

S.

Marshall Plan program,

Through which Icelanders received the most aid per capita of any European country.

Vigdís Finnbajadóttir assumed Iceland's presidency on the 1st of August 1980,

Making her the first elected female head of state in the world.

The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars,

Several disputes with the United Kingdom over Iceland's extension of its fishing limits to 200 nautical miles offshore.

Iceland hosted a summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev,

During which they took significant steps towards nuclear disarmament.

A few years later,

Iceland became the first country to recognize the independence of Estonia,

Latvia,

And Lithuania as they broke away from the USSR.

Throughout the 1990s,

The country expanded its international role and developed a foreign policy oriented towards humanitarian and peacekeeping causes.

To that end,

Iceland provided aid and expertise to various NATO-led interventions in Bosnia,

Kosovo,

And Iraq.

Iceland joined the European Economic Area in 1994,

After which the economy was greatly diversified and liberalized.

International economic relations increased further after 2001,

When Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt,

Contributing to a 32% increase in Iceland's gross national income.

Between 2002 and 2007 In 2003-2007,

Following the privatization of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Odsson,

Iceland moved towards having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services.

It was quickly becoming one of the most prosperous countries in the world,

But was hit hard by a major financial crisis.

The crisis resulted in the greatest migration from Iceland since 1887,

With a net emigration of 5,

000 people in 2009.

Iceland's economy established under the government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and grew by 1.

6% in 2012.

The centre-right Independence Party was returned to power in coalition with the Progressive Party in the 2013 election.

In the following years,

Iceland saw a surge in tourism as the country became a popular holiday destination.

In 2016,

Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Skúnlaugsson resigned after being implicated in the Panama Papers scandal.

Early elections in 2016 resulted in a right-wing correlation government of the Independence Party,

Vithreisen,

And Bright Future.

This government fell when Bright Future quit the coalition due to a scandal.

Snap elections in October 2017 brought to power a new coalition consisting of the Independence Party,

The Progressive Party,

And the Left Green Movement,

Headed by Katrine Jakobsdóttir.

After the 2021 parliamentary election,

The new government was,

Just like the previous government,

A tri-party coalition of the Independence Party,

The Progressive Party,

And the Left Green Movement,

Headed by Prime Minister Katrine Jakobsdóttir.

In April 2024,

Bjarne Benediktsson of the Independence Party succeeded Katrine Jakobsdóttir as Prime Minister.

In November 2024,

Centre-left Social Democratic Alliance became the biggest party in a snap election,

Meaning Social Democratic Christian Fróstadóttir became the next Prime Minister of Iceland.

Iceland is at the juncture of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean.

The main island is entirely south of the Arctic Circle,

Which passes through the small Icelandic island of Grímsey off the main island's northern coast.

The country lies between latitudes 63 and 68 degrees north and longitudes 25 and 13 degrees west.

Iceland is closer to continental Europe than to mainland North America,

Although it is closest to Greenland,

An island of North America.

Iceland is generally included in Europe for geographical,

Historical,

Political,

Cultural,

Linguistic,

And practical reasons.

Geologically,

The island includes parts of both continental plates.

The closest bodies of land in Europe are the Faroe Islands,

Jan Mayen Island,

Shetland,

And the Outer Hebrides,

Both about 740 km,

And the Scottish mainland and Orkney,

Both about 750 km.

The nearest part of continental Europe is mainland Norway,

About 970 km away,

While mainland North America is 2,

070 km away,

At the northern tip of Labrador.

Iceland is the 18th largest island in the world,

And the second largest island in Europe,

Smaller than Great Britain and bigger than Ireland.

The main island covers 101,

826 km2,

But the entire country is 103,

000 km2 in size,

Of which 62.

7% is tundra.

Iceland contains about 30 minor islands,

Including the lightly populated Grímsey and the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.

Lakes and glaciers cover 14.

3% of its surface,

Only 23% is vegetated.

The largest lakes are Þorsfjallreservör,

83-88 km2,

And Þingvallavatn,

82 km2.

Other important lakes include Lagarfjörður and Mývatn.

Jörgarsarlon is the deepest lake,

At 248 m.

Geologically,

Iceland is a part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,

A ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new crust.

This part of the mid-ocean ridge is located above a mantle plume,

Causing Iceland to be sub-aerial,

Above the surface of the sea.

The ridge marks the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate,

And Iceland was created by rifting and accretion through volcanism along the ridge.

Iceland is the only large insular landmass in the world,

Which is located on a mid-ocean ridge above sea level.

It is probably the only place in the world where the effects of two major tectonic plates drifting apart can easily be observed above sea level.

The island sits directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,

Where the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate are moving away from each other.

A geologically young land at 16-18 million years old,

Iceland is the surface expansion of the Iceland Plateau,

A large igneous province forming as a result of volcanism from the Iceland Hotspot and along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,

The latter of which runs right through it.

This means that the island is highly geologically active,

With many volcanoes.

The volcanic eruption of Vlaki in 1783-1784 caused a famine that killed nearly a quarter of the island's population.

In addition,

The eruption caused dust clouds and haze to appear over most of Europe and parts of Africa and Asia for several months afterwards,

And affected climates in other areas.

Iceland has many geysers,

Including Geysir,

From which the English word is derived,

And the famous Strokkur,

Which erupts every 8-10 minutes.

After a phase of inactivity,

Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in 2000.

Geysir has since grown quieter and does not erupt often.

With the widespread availability of geothermal power and the harnessing of many rivers and waterfalls for hydroelectricity,

Most residents have access to inexpensive hot water,

Heating,

And electricity.

The island is composed primarily of basalt,

A low-silica lava associated with effusive volcanism,

As has also occurred in Hawaii.

Iceland,

However,

Has a variety of volcanic types,

Composite and fissure,

Many producing more evolved lavas such as rhyolite and andesite.

Iceland has hundreds of volcanoes with about 30 active volcanic systems.

Surtsey,

One of the youngest islands in the world,

Is part of Iceland.

Named after Surtur,

It rose after the ocean in a series of volcanic eruptions between the 8th of November 1963 and June 5th,

1968.

Only scientists researching the growth of new life are allowed to visit the island.

The country has approximately 30 active volcanic systems.

Within each are volcano tectonic fissure systems,

And many,

But not all of them,

Also have at least one central volcano,

Mostly in the form of a stratovolcano,

Sometimes a shield volcano,

With a magma chamber underneath.

Several classifications of the systems exist.

For example,

There is one of 30 systems,

And one of 34 systems,

With the latter currently being used in Iceland itself.

Reviews

Thank you. I actually found it interesting and it also put me to sleep!💤

Interesting! I’d love to visit Iceland someday, it sounds amazing. Thanks, Benjamin! 😻

I’ve been to Iceland and wanted to hear this but your soothing voice lulled me to sleep pretty quickly so this worked like a charm. 😴 Thank you!

This was too interesting for me to sleep through. Earlier in my life, I nearly took a job on an oil rig in the North Sea. My off days would have been spent in Iceland, so I learned what I could about it in 1980. Most of it was wrong as I learned from listening to your Podcast. I chose a different job because I wasn't sure I would enjoy a job where I would be the only woman on an oil rig surrounded by a raging sea. At age 26, it was intimidating, although Iceland would have been fun. Thank you for the information I didn't know I needed until I heard it. I’m sure I'll fall asleep when I listen to it again.