Reading may increase lifespan based on recent studies where it highlighted that adults who read books for a period of no less than 30 minutes a day may extend their lives by as much as 2 years.
Reading books may increase lifespan for avid book readers
In a study published recently in the journal Social Science and Medicine, researchers from the Yale University School of Public Health reveals that books offer a benefit similar to therapeutic effects that are relative to many if not all avoid book fans.
Epidemiology professor Becca R. Levy, co-author of the study, said that despite the growing popularity of online and, e-books and mobile book applications, traditional book sales have increased in the past two years. Thanks to the effects of books in impacting behavior and well-being of readers.
This, after statistics showed that printed book sales reached 571 million units in the United States alone, which is higher compared to 2014 recorded sales of 559 million units sold.
Levy also points out that they are linking their findings to results that show book readers may also likely to increase their lifespan by as much as two years.
A related study also published on Medical News Today indicates that those reading fictional books also increases human emotions like empathy and thoughtfulness.
Increased life expectancy
Levy points out that her team came up with the conclusion that people who were avid regular book readers increased their survival rates by up to 23 percent. This was the highlight of their study involving some 3,635 adults who took part in the Health and Retirement Study.
The study was sanctioned by federal authorities and was certified nationally representative of Americans aged 50 and up. They also self-reported their reading habits at the start of the research process and their lives were monitored in terms of actual lifespan throughout a period of 12 years.
Bookworms lived longer lives
Those who were avid book readers who were engrossed in reading activities for up to 3.5 hours each week were 17% less likely to succumb to death through natural causes over the span of 12 years.
What’s more, those who read books for more than 3.5 hours each week were 23 % less likely to die, which statistically gave them the conclusion that book readers were more likely to increase their lifespan of an average of two years compared to non- readers.
The study also shows that book reading was common with females who were college-educated and with a higher income bracket. And although those fond of reading magazines and newspapers also showed marked increase in lifespan, still book readers had the highest rate of life expectancy.
The study did not specifically determine the actual reasons behind the increased life survival, but Levy and her team points out that it may have something to do with the cognitive benefits that the brain gets from the reading activity, based on a separate study where reading was found to increase brain cell connectivity resulting to better general well-being.
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