When you can watch Mathew Macfadyen (Darcy) reluctantly fall in love with a woman beneath his class, Keira Knightly (Elizabeth), on a big screen in two hours nine minutes flat, then why waste time reading the 386-page novel, Pride and Prejudice?
In the world of omnipresent screens, it is easy to forget the simple pleasure of curling up and flipping the pages of a book. My dad always says, ‘reading is all the therapy you need’, and now medical science agrees with him too.
The research published in renowned medical journal Science, shows that reading literary works cultivates areas of the brain which boost focus, attention, comprehension, and make you an empathetic person.
On World Book Day, here are five scientific reasons to swap the remote for a book:
1. Reading Can Prevent Alzheimer’s
Reading stimulates multiple parts of the brain, more than watching a movie or listening to music does. People who read more have complex brains and sharper memory.
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that people who read regularly are two and a half times less likely to have Alzheimer’s. Now, this does not imply that only reading will prevent Alzheimer’s, but it does suggest a clear-cut link between degenerative diseases and brain health.
2. Reading Is a Great De-Stresser
When you read, it transports you and your worried mind to another place, so you won’t feel so overwhelmed with the hardships of everyday life.
Read on, stressed souls!
3. It Helps You Focus & Comprehend Better
Stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end – that kind of a structure encourages the brain to think in a sequence; to link the cause, effect and significance.
Neuroscientists say that this helps lengthen attention spans in children and improves their ability to think clearly.
4. Enhances Attention
Your brain benefits from any good workout – just like slogging in the gym, reading and making sense of the text is a much more neurobiologically demanding process for your brain cells than watching something on TV.
A brain imaging study done by the New York University in 2009 found that when we read and imagine the landscapes, sounds, smells and tastes described on a page, the various areas of the brain that are used to process these experiences in real life are activated, creating new neural pathways.
5. It Can Help You Live Longer
No one has found the fountain of youth, but scientists claim that reading keeps you young. According to Harvard Medical School’s Family Health Guide, reading is a mentally stimulating activity which requires a lot of brain exercise to create, balance and maintain new connections between neurons.
What’s more, reading can even help you build up a “reserve” that can come in handy with brain cell loss later in life.
5. Difference Between Reading an eBook and a Real Book
This is a still an emerging topic of research but scientists say the health benefits of reading a book can be negated in digital books.
A growing number of us are glued to multiple screens at a time – all this screen-staring is taking a toll on our eyes. A recent study from the Vision Council suggests that 7 out of 10 millennials are developing digital eye strain; the fatigue and dryness in the eyes after staring at screens for long hours.
Reading a book has long been associated with one of the routines that leads to better quality sleep. However, a study out last year found that reading from a tablet or iPad before bedtime may actually disrupt sleep ability.
Happy reading, everyone!
Related Read: Got a Blur? Step Away From the Screen
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