Status: 14.01.2024, 15:44 PM
By: Ulrike Hanninger
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Various studies have shown that books have concrete health benefits. According to them, reading even increases life expectancy.
Mental and physical health cannot be taken for granted, especially in old age. The topic is therefore also of concern to scientists, who are constantly carrying out corresponding investigations and studies. A link was made between reading books and a long, healthy life. Three effects in particular stand out positively: reading reduces stress, prevents dementia and generally increases life expectancy. The effect can be intensified with mindful reading of books, which lead to more serenity.
Reading relieves stress in a healthy way
Reading books has been shown to relax and thus promote stress reduction. © Panthermedia/Imago
Scientists at the University of Sussex in England put subjects under so much stress during a study that pulse and heartbeat were measurably increased. After that, they should sit quietly for six minutes and read a book or magazine. Of course, nothing as exciting as, say, the books of Stephen King or Sebastian Fitzek. Vital signs continued to be measured.
The results were clear: the participants visibly relaxed, the heartbeat slowed down and even muscle tension relaxed. According to the researchers, their stress levels dropped by as much as 68 percent.
Literary Dementia Prevention
Research knows that mentally active people are less likely to develop dementia. Reading plays an important role in this. Barack Obama's reading list, for example, offers inspiration. The effect has been proven by various studies, including a study by the University of Berkeley in California. The group of subjects consisted of 60 healthy people with a minimum age of 65 years, ten Alzheimer's patients and eleven healthy people between twenty and thirty years of age.
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The conclusion of the study is that the probability of becoming demented in old age decreases through regular reading of books and magazines. Reread, i.e. the repeated reading of one and the same book, is also permitted. Typical symptoms such as declining comprehension or a declining vocabulary occur much less frequently in frequent readers. The sooner you start reading, the better. Unfortunately, those who only find their way to literature as a pensioner can no longer expect any noticeable improvements.
Books extend life expectancy
A long-term study by Yale University in America, which ran over 12 years and involved 3,635 people, found that bookworms live an average of 23 months longer than non-readers. The scientists studied people aged 50 and over and their reading habits.
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The subjects were divided into non-readers, average readers who devoted 3.5 hours to reading during the week, and frequent readers who read more than 3.5 hours during the week. What was interesting here was the realization that it actually had to be reading books. Magazines and newspapers had no comparable effect on health.