Image: stokkete – Depositphotos.This study was conducted regardless of gender, wealth, education or health factors.
A new study from Yale University has found that people who read books live longer than those who don’t.
Researchers surveyed 3,635 participants over the age of 50 about their reading habits.
Based on this data, they were divided into 3 groups: non-readers, people who read less than 3.5 hours per week, and people who read more than 3.5 hours per week.
The researchers followed each group for 12 years.. The people who read the most were college-educated women in the highest income group.
Throughout the study, researchers found that both groups of readers lived longer than non-readers. Readers who read more than 3.5 hours per week live 23 months longer than those who do not read. This life extension applied to all reading participants, regardless of the factors of “sex, wealth, education or health“, explains thestudio. That’s a 20% reduction in mortality created by sedentary activity.. That’s a lot, and a very simple solution to improving the quality of life for anyone over 50.
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The results are improving.
Compared to non-book readers, book readers had a 4-month survival advantage, at the age when 20% of their peers died. Book readers also experienced a 20% reduction in mortality risk over 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers.
Our analyzes showed that any level of book reading gave a significantly greater survival advantage than reading periodicals. This is a new finding, as previous studies did not compare types of reading material; indicates that reading books, not reading in general, provides a survival advantage.
The reason why books have made more profit than periodicals is that reading books involves more cognitive faculties. Readers did not start out with higher cognitive faculties than non-readers; they simply engaged in the activity of reading, which increased these faculties.
This finding suggests that reading books provides a survival benefit due to the immersive nature that helps maintain cognitive status.
As any book lover knows, reading involves two main cognitive processes: deep reading and emotional connection. Deep reading is a slow process in which the reader engages with the book and tries to understand it in their own context and in the context of the outside world. Emotional connection is one in which the reader empathizes with the characters and which promotes social perception and emotional intelligence. These cognitive processes were cited by the Yale team and used as markers for this study. Although they apparently offer a survival advantage, “better health behaviors and reduced stress may explain this process“, according to the study.
All the data was collected via a telephone survey and does not take e-books into account, but it is still encouraging. There’s really no downside to reading other than taking the time for it.
More information: www.sciencedirect.com