what are the health benefits of reading

5 Surprising Health Benefits Of Reading

1. It might help you live longer.
2. It encourages focus and concentration.
3. It can improve memory.
4. It can reduce stress.
5. It can help you sleep better.

Full Answer

How does reading improve your health?

Reading can even relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. It works better and faster than other relaxation methods , such as listening to music or drinking a hot cup of tea.

How does reading positively affect my mental health?

What Different Genres and Types of Books Do to the Brain

• Thrillers. "Reading thrillers adds excitement and can help us step away from our own problems, making us realize that there are people in worse situations than ourselves."
• Literary Classics. "Literary books stimulate different parts of our brain and give them an intense workout."
• Happy Stories. ...
• Nostalgic Tales. ...
• Biographies and Autobiographies. ...

Why is reading so good for your health?

Why Reading Is Good For Your Health

• Boosts brain function. Reading is like continuously treating yourself to new knowledge and wisdom. ...
• Contributes to happiness. In a study from INC, 20% of readers reported feeling more satisfied in life after 30 minutes a week of book worming.
• Promotes tolerance and understanding. Reading is a door into the author’s mind and way of life. ...

Why reading is beneficial for health?

Why Reading Is Beneficial For Health

• Expands Knowledge And Vocabulary. The original purpose of books was to store and dispense distilled, organized information. ...
• Improves Focus And Concentration. Another benefit of reading is how it improves focus and concentration. ...
• Improves Memory. The mental effort we make as we read works closely with memory processing. ...
• Mental Stimulation. ...
• Reduces Stress. ...

What are the 5 benefits of reading?

Top 10 Benefits of Reading for All AgesReading Exercises the Brain. ... Reading is a Form of (free) Entertainment. ... Reading Improves Concentration and the Ability to Focus. ... Reading Improves Literacy. ... Reading Improves Sleep. ... Reading Increases General Knowledge. ... Reading is Motivational. ... Reading Reduces Stress.More items...•

How does reading benefit your health?

Why is reading good for you? Reading is good for you because it improves your focus, memory, empathy, and communication skills. It can reduce stress, improve your mental health, and help you live longer. Reading also allows you to learn new things to help you succeed in your work and relationships.

What are the 7 benefits of reading?

7 Benefits of Reading Aloud (Plus Online Read Aloud Books for...Develops stronger vocabulary. ... Builds connections between the spoken and written word. ... Provides enjoyment. ... Increases attention span. ... Strengthens cognition. ... Provides a safe way of exploring strong emotions. ... Promotes bonding.

What are the 20 benefits of reading?

Why is Reading Important? 20 Benefits of Reading BooksReading Books Encourages Empathy. ... Reading Books Helps to Increase Vocabulary. ... Reading Books Makes You Better at School. ... Reading Books Makes you Less Stressed. ... Reading Books Makes You Feel More Positive. ... Reading Books Helps You Sleep Better.More items...•

What is importance of reading?

Reading teaches you new words and perspectives. It helps strengthen language and sharpens sentence structure. It gives you a better command over the language. All of these are critical to being a good speaker.

How does reading benefit the brain?

Reading consistently strengthens connections in the brain, improves memory and concentration, and may even help you live longer. Reading can also reduce stress levels and prevent age-related cognitive decline. To read more, set aside time every day to pick up a book, whether it's during your commute or before bed.

What happens when you read everyday?

A person who reads everyday gets better at it over time. Not surprisingly, daily readers also gain more enjoyment from it than those that read less often. It can even improve memory and critical thinking skills. And activities like reading have been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

How much should I read a day?

You should read at least one hour every day without interruptions to be considered an average book reader. Those who finish a book every week usually engage in focused reading for 1.5 to 3 hours each day and have strategies to avoid distraction from smart devices and people.

Why do books make you smarter?

When you read, you stimulate areas in your brain responsible for empathy, emotion, decision-making, and autobiographical memory. Engagement with your brain keeps you sharp, helping to reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.

How does reading books help you?

Reading books benefits both your physical and mental health, and those benefits can last a lifetime. They begin in early childhood and continue through the senior years. Here’s a brief explanation of how reading books can change your brain — and your body — for the better.

Why is it important to read books?

Helps prevent age-related cognitive decline. The National Institute on Aging recommends reading books and magazines as a way of keeping your mind engaged as you grow older. Although research hasn’t proven conclusively that reading books prevents diseases like Alzheimer’s, studies. Trusted Source.

Why do people read print books?

That may be, in part, because people tend to read print more slowly than they read digital content.

Why is reading literary fiction important?

Increases your ability to empathize. And speaking of sensing pain, research. Trusted Source. has shown that people who read literary fiction — stories that explore the inner lives of characters — show a heightened ability to understand the feelings and beliefs of others.

Can reading fiction help you?

And that’s a feeling books can sometimes lessen. Reading fiction can allow you to temporarily escape your own world and become swept up in the imagined experiences of the characters . And nonfiction self-help books can teach you strategies that may help you manage symptoms.

How does reading help with stress?

1) Reading can reduce stress. Stress is believed to contribute to around 60 percent of all human illness and disease; it can raise the risks of stroke and heart disease by 50 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Of course, day-to-day life makes it impossible to eliminate stress completely, but there are things we can do to reduce stress ...

Why is fiction important?

Study author Keith Oatley, of the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto, Canada, suggests that fiction allows the reader to engage with the characters, which may lead to increased empathy with others in reality.

How long does it take to read a book?

Study co-author Dr. David Lewis, a neuropsychologist at Mindlab International at Sussex, and colleagues found that participants who engaged in just 6 minutes of reading – whether a newspaper or a book – experienced a slowed heart rate and reduced muscle tension.

How many Americans have read at least one book?

Given that more than 75 percent of American adults have read at least one book in the past year, any reports of the associated health benefits are likely to be welcome news. If you are in the remaining 25 percent of people who find reading a chore, perhaps learning more about how it could improve health and well-being will encourage you to shun ...

How many people read books in the past year?

More than 75 percent of American adults report reading at least one book in the past year. In August, Medical News Today reported on a study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine that claimed reading books could increase lifespan. Led by researchers from Yale University School of Public Health, the study revealed ...

Does reading skills increase intelligence?

Research has linked stronger reading skills at a younger age with increased intelligence. What is more, it appears that the stronger a person’s early reading skills, the more intelligent they are likely to become. A 2014 study published in the journal Child Development. Trusted Source.

Is reading good for health?

But increasingly, researchers are finding that reading may offer some very real benefits for health and well-being.

How Should I Read to My Child?

Reading to your child doesn't need to be a chore. Even reading together for just a few minutes a day is beneficial. Here are some tips to get you started on an enjoyable routine:

How Do I Choose Books to Read to My Child?

Choosing the right book depends on your child’s age, maturity, reading level, and interests. It’s always a good idea to follow the child’s lead to find a book that would interest them. If you let your child choose the book you will read together, they are more likely to feel engaged with the activity.

What do you remember when you read a book?

When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. That’s a fair bit to remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with relative ease.

How does an engaging article help you relax?

A well-written novel can transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax. 3. Knowledge. Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might come in handy.

Does staying mentally stimulated help with dementia?

Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, [1] since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power.

How much lower risk of dying from reading books?

They determined that people who read books regularly had a 20% lower risk of dying over the next 12 years compared with people who weren't readers or who read periodicals. This difference remained regardless of race, education, state of health, wealth, marital status, and depression.

How many people participated in the Health and Retirement Study?

Researchers at Yale University School of Public Health designed a study to try to answer those questions. The researchers studied the records of 5,635 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing investigation of people who were 50 or older and had provided information on their reading habits when the study began.