Did you know that people who read books have longer lives?
A 12-year study by the Yale School of Public Health, published in 2016, (based on information previously gathered by the University of Michigan) found that people who read books live an average of nearly two years longer (about 23 months) than non-readers. The 12-year study of 3,635 adults aged 50 and older showed a 20% lower mortality risk during the 12 years of the study for book readers.
- Those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week (about 30 minutes a day) were 23% less likely to die.
- They ultimately lived an average of 23 months longer than non-readers.
- Those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week were 17% less likely to die than non-readers.
- The quality or genres of the books was not a factor included.
The theoretical explanations for this interesting fact:
- Cognitive development—fending off mental decline by exercising the brain.
- Lower stress—immersing yourself in a book significantly lowers the heart rate and stress hormones.
- Social connection—reading fiction improves empathy and social perception, which supports emotional well-being.
There has been some debate about the accuracy of this result, due to the effects of other factors, such as health issues, gender, race, wealth, etc. The original researchers claimed they took this into account, but people still tried to “fix” their findings. However, no matter how much people have tweaked the numbers, they have not been able to reduce the findings to nothing. The remaining statement holds true: Readers live longer.This result was shown to be specifically for books, rather than periodicals, which did not show such positive results. The reason given for this was the necessity of IMMERSION. Short articles do not pull your focus in as fully.
The study did not compare the results for different forms of reading, such as audiobooks or braille reading. Reading both by touch and by listening, however, has been proven by neurologists to stimulate the same sections of the brain the same amount as reading with the eyes. All three forms of reading are fully immersive—even more so when using two senses, eg. listening to an audiobook while following the text of an e-book. So it seems logical to me that any method of reading, so long as it involves mental IMMERSION, gives you a longer life.