"Why Reading Books Should be Your Priority, According to Science" | Inc.

[Froide]

Christina DesMarais. (March 15, 2018). "Why Reading Books Should be Your Priority, According to Science". Inc.

You're not doing yourself any favors if you're in the 26 percent of American adults who haven't read even part of a book within the last year.
More than a quarter--26 percent--of American adults admit to not having read even part of a book within the last year. That's according to statistics coming out of the Pew Research Center. If you're part of this group, know that science supports the idea that reading is good for you on several levels.

[Ken Maltby]

You might consider who reads the posts at MR, I doubt 1% of MR Forum readers would fall into that category.

Luck;
Ken

[drjd]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

I doubt 1% of MR Forum readers would fall into that category.

Luck;
Ken

I feel you are even exaggerating the numbers, Ken.

[HLS]

I actually gone over 20 years without reading a book. I think I stopped reading when I got out of high school in 1988 and did not read again to 2010 when Ibought my first ereader.

[JSWolf]

Does reading a newspaper count as reading? My father does not read books, but he does read the newspaper.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does reading a newspaper count as reading? My father does not read books, but he does read the newspaper.

Or even reading online should count. But a lot of times – at least for me – I kind of scan news stories. (Of course I did that when I read newspapers also.)

[jhowell]

Those studies appear to show correlation, not causation.

It may be that those who are better educated tend to both read more and also take better care of their health.

[Ken Maltby]

While I am sure my reading about dragons and magic will improve my health and extend my life, I am not so sure about all those romance tales sold. I also might have a differing opinion of what constitutes a "better education" and its effect on health (mental and otherwise).

Luck;
Ken

Interesting "Science" results from Pew, compare their percentages in the post about AudioBooks. (Both posted by Froide)

[Deskisamess]

My husband rarely read, until after I got my first Kindle in 2009. That sparked his interest, and he reads every day now. He doesn't have a lot of time to read, but retirement is about 3 years away, so I expect him to read more then.

I have two SIL’s who don’t read at all. I don’t understand it. A house without books never feels right to me. I rarely read print books now, but still have books in every room in the house.

[Richwood]

Per a Google search mental activity, including reading, seems to reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer's. I hope so as I am going on age 74 and want to avoid mental ability loss as long as possible.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Per a Google search mental activity, including reading, seems to reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer's. I hope so as I am going on age 74 and want to avoid mental ability loss as long as possible.

Absolutely!

I am in a similar position but am a few years younger.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Thasaidon

Absolutely!



I am in a similar position but am a few years younger.

And that's why in addition to reading books, I digitize them. I figure struggling with CSS is good for the old noggin...

However, reading has always been a priority since I first learned how. TV not even remotely close to a priority.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[harriska2]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I actually gone over 20 years without reading a book. I think I stopped reading when I got out of high school in 1988 and did not read again to 2010 when Ibought my first ereader.

Almost exactly the same for me. Ebooks on the compaq ipaq started me in 2000. Then one day I decided to take up reading as a bad habit. I started with Harry Potter, dicovered mysteries, then all sorts of other genre. About 500-1000 books later ...

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by graycyn

However, reading has always been a priority since I first learned how. TV not even remotely close to a priority.

Yep, the same for me. Neither of my parents have ever been book readers (they read newspapers and occasional magazine, though), but they were pretty diligent book buyers in their younger years and our home was always full of books.

I was also one of those snobs who think only paper books are REAL books. For several years I was seriously annoyed with Amazon (where I bought most of my paper books) for pushing their Kindle editions at me every time I visited their webpage. I didn't want to see that crap! Then in 2011 it dawned on me that there was no longer any room for books in my apartment, unless I wanted to move out myself and leave it to them. My books had practically taken over my home. I got my first Kindle then and never looked back.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does reading a newspaper count as reading? My father does not read books, but he does read the newspaper.

Reading newspapers does count, although research shows some benefits of reading differ by type of reading material. (For example, see Brendan Brown, Contributor (Dec. 12, 2016). "14 reasons why reading is good for your health". Business Insider.")

Originally Posted by rcentros

Or even reading online should count. But a lot of times – at least for me – I kind of scan news stories. (Of course I did that when I read newspapers also.)

Various other research studies (e.g., see these search results) indicate the processes of reading digital content versus paper content differ, which has a variety of implications. Nonetheless, I do most of my reading digitally these days, although I prefer DTB for texts that include lots of illustrations, charts, graphs, content that requires me to flip back and forth between pages, or content I want to notate and then reread along with my underlining, highlights, and margin notes.