Reading for pleasure boosts memory, empathy and mental health — SkimNews
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- Barbara Sahakian at the University of Cambridge pooled evidence from five surveys and eight long-term studies, covering tens of thousands of participants, on the effects of reading for pleasure.
- Reading for pleasure was repeatedly linked to greater grey matter volume and stronger communication between brain regions, potentially building cognitive reserve that defends against aging and damage.
- Reading was associated across the reviewed studies with reduced stress, greater empathy, enhanced wellbeing, and reduced loneliness.
- Children who began reading early showed moderately larger brain surface areas and volumes in regions tied to emotional control, alongside better attention, memory, executive function, and academic achievement.
- Older adults who read for pleasure had a lower risk of cognitive decline than non-readers in the studies reviewed.
- Reading fiction may help the brain practice responding to life events and reduce loneliness through connection with characters, while non-fiction stimulates different brain regions.
- Reading for pleasure has plummeted over the past 20 years, a trend the researchers partly attribute to rising social media use.
Why it matters: The synthesis of five surveys and eight long-term studies gives reading-for-pleasure research rare longitudinal weight, tying the habit to measurable brain-structure and lifespan mental-health benefits at a moment when the activity itself is in decline, potentially undercutting the very cognitive reserve it is shown to build.
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