The study, which is published in the journal ‘Social Science & Medicine‘, looked at 3,635 people who were 50 or older. On average, book readers were found to live for almost 2 years longer than non-readers.
What the data says…
Respondents were divided into 3 groups governed by their reading habits per week, those that read for 3.5 hours or more a week, those that read for up to 3.5 hours a week, and those that didn’t read at all.
After a 12 year study, the researchers found that those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die, while those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week were 17% less likely to die.
33% of non-book readers died, compared to 27% of book readers.
Does it matter what you read?
The survey did find that not all reading material is made equal when it comes to prolonging our precious years.
Reading a novel over a newspaper has many more life extending benefits. It’s believed to be because reading books promotes a slow immersive process and involves greater cognitive engagement. In his paper documenting the survey, Avni Bavishi believes that reading books coaxes the reader to draw connections, find applications to the world and ask questions. “Cognitive engagement may explain why vocabulary, reasoning, concentration, and critical thinking skills are improved by exposure to books.”
The authors of the paper go further as to say that books “can promote empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, which are cognitive processes that can lead to greater survival”.
Pulling on previous findings, the paper references that people over 65 spend an average of 4.4 hours a day watching television and say that shifting this leisure activity into book reading time could add years to our lives.
For more information on this study, read this concise article.
Are you running a business and think you don’t have time to read? Think again…
With the help of CSnotepad you can better manage your time. Strike a better work life balance by diverting your ringing phone to us. We have a team of professional and friendly customer service advisors ready to take your calls as though members of your own in-house team. Your callers will never know they haven’t reached you directly, we can tailor our service to meet your individual business needs, and seamlessly match your customer service style.
To find out more about our services visit our website here.