Reading is a hobby enjoyed by all, regardless of class or culture. Despite the rise of super accessible audiobooks and streaming services, the simple act of reading remains the most beneficial content consumption medium when it comes to keeping your mind healthy. And today, the variety in choice of reading material means there is something to interest everyone, at the touch of a button.
Reading is your brain’s way of getting a pump on and staying in tip-top shape.
But what are these benefits I keep raving about?
It’s just plain good for you
The benefits associated over the short and long term, from regular reading are real and plentiful. At its core, reading is exercise for the brain. And as physical exercise helps keep our bodies healthy, regular reading does the same for those squidgy computers upstairs.
Just six minutes of reading every day can lead to a 68% reduction in stress levels. That comes from a study carried out by the University of Sussex, where reading was identified as the number one activity for short-term stress reduction, beating out music, hot drinks, and strolls in the park. But that’s not the only way reading can help our mental health.
Reading activates and strengthens the vast number of pathways and circuits in our brains, and MRI scans have shown visible positive changes in brain activity due to reading.
Bibliotherapy is increasingly recognised as a viable treatment for anxiety, depression, and grief. Patients who took part in regular reading groups showed alleviated symptoms of psychosis and emotional trauma, demonstrating the healing power of reading.
Don’t take it from me…
Multi-billionaire and investor Warren Buffet is known to read five to six hours per day. Bill Gates, Oprah, Barack Obama, Elon Musk. All have credited their success in part to their voracious reading habits. Now, for most of us, allocating such a large chunk of our day to this pastime is not realistic. But how about this for a stat:
88% of millionaires claim to read 30 minutes or more each day.
This in no way means reading every day will make you a millionaire, but the correlation between reading and success is surely worth mentioning. Stephen Hawking claimed, “Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge.” Historical figures too, such as Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, and Malcolm X, are all well known for their advocacy of reading.
Reading and the Developing Brain
Let’s talk about the benefits of reading for children and young people. In the early years of life, before reading age, a young child’s left-sided brain is stimulated and cultivated through having stories read to them. And that stimulation only increases as the child gets a grasp on language and begins reading the stories themselves.
Education research is constantly looking for the best, most efficient ways for students to develop, and research points to reading as a powerful tool to this end. Studies of schoolchildren in Fiji and Singapore demonstrated a noticeable difference in the rate at which students learned a second language, depending on the learning method. Both sustained silent reading (SSR) and free voluntary reading (FVR) were shown to be significantly better mediums through which to learn a language than the audio-lingual methods which dominate the classroom. An extremely low-maintenance activity allowing teachers to kick back and let the students do all the learning themselves? Sounds like a pretty good deal.
Many of the long-term benefits of reading are cumulative, so starting ‘em young is the way to go.
Later in Life
Until someone finally gets around to cracking time travel, it’s tough luck if you missed out on those valuable early reading years. That said, it’s never too late to start. A plethora of research backs reading as one of, if not the best way to keep our minds sharp. A study of elderly men and women showed regular mental stimulation in later life reduced the rate of dementia-related mental decline by 32%. Those who had read regularly all their lives showed increased resistance to the plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
And if that doesn’t get your attention, regular reading may just help you live longer. Researchers at Yale conducted a 12-year study on the reading habits of over 3,000 subjects over 50. Those who read more than 3.5 hours a week lived 23 months longer on average than non-readers. That’s a pretty good sell, right? The truth is reading is just really good for our brains. Old or young, if you consciously start reading more, your brain will thank you for it.
Nonfiction vs Fiction
There’s actually quite a variation in the effects of reading different content. Reading nonfiction is productive for acquiring new knowledge and developing practical and cognitive skills. Nonfiction has been shown to boost concentration, analytical thinking, and understanding.
Reading fiction, on the other hand, strengthens the neural pathways that are active in perspective-taking. Brains of subjects scanned before and after regular fiction reading demonstrated something quite remarkable. Feelings of pain and hurt being experienced by a character activated the same parts of the reader’s brain as if they were actually experiencing these emotions personally. The same is true for action words, like ‘kick’ or ‘chew’.
While reading fiction, we put ourselves in the shoes of the characters, leading to greater social cognition and empathy.
Some closing remarks
From the opening chapters of our lives to the final pages, reading keeps our brains in shape. Incorporating it as a habit in our daily lives can have dramatic effects on our mental state, our ability to interact with others, as well as the knowledge we acquire.
Of course, it would be remiss of me as I tell you about the wonders of reading, not to mention the new Six Minute Reads posted every week. If you want to build a reading habit, what better way to start than by joining our mailing list below, to receive new articles covering all sorts of intriguing topics.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr Seuss
FAQs
What are the benefits of reading every day?
Reading daily helps reduce stress, improves mental health, enhances knowledge and empathy, and can even contribute to a longer lifespan.
How does reading affect mental health?
Regular reading has been linked to lower stress levels, improved focus and concentration, and can be a form of therapy for conditions like anxiety and depression. It’s also known to delay cognitive decline in the elderly.
What’s the difference between reading fiction and nonfiction for brain health?
Nonfiction boosts analytical thinking, concentration, and understanding, while fiction enhances social cognition, empathy, and emotional intelligence by allowing readers to identify with characters and their experiences.
Can reading help in learning a second language?
Yes, research suggests that sustained silent reading (SSR) and free voluntary reading (FVR) significantly improve the rate at which students learn a second language.
How can I incorporate a reading habit into my daily routine?
Start with setting aside a fixed time for reading each day, find a comfortable spot, and choose books or articles that interest you. Gradually increase the amount of time you read each day.