A Chapter a Day Keeps Doc Away

Remember honest-to-goodness reading? And we don’t mean scanning a text, a tweet, an email, or a headline.

This is about cracking open a bound thing full of chapters and words and a narrative line — a book, in other words. Would you make more of an effort to do more of this reading if you knew reading even 30 minutes a day could add valuable years to your life and maybe help even stave off a number of diseases, including dementia?

“Book reading rather than reading in general is driving a survival advantage,” say researchers of a new study.

A new study finds that people who read books have a “survival advantage” over those who do not. A more than 20 percent reduction in mortality, in fact, was observed for those who read books, compared to those who do not.

The benefits were specific to books versus periodicals. “This is a novel finding (in both senses of the word), as previous studies did not compare types of reading material … book reading rather than reading in general is driving a survival advantage,” the researchers stated in their report.

The reading and longevity study was published in the July issue of Social Science and Medicine.

“I was interested in this topic, as I was an avid reader myself and noticed that people made less time for reading as they aged,” said Avni Bavishi, a master’s degree student who led the study at Yale University School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut.

Related: How Fiction Fuels Our Brains

“I worked with Dr. Levy, an expert on aging, and the project was born out of our combined interests,” she told LifeZette. “We had seen some mixed effects in previous literature that seemed to indicate that there may be a survival advantage to general reading. However, we were impressed with the magnitude of the difference of effect between reading books and reading newspapers or magazines.”

The results were based on a study of 3,635 people aged 50 or older. Participants were split up into three groups: those who didn’t read at all, those who read for up to three to five hours a week, and those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week.

“I was the kid who got in trouble for staying up past bedtime reading with a flashlight. I have always loved it,” said one woman.

Those who spent more time reading survived almost two years longer on average than those who didn’t — and in general, the study established the principle that the more a person reads, the more health benefits that person received.

“People often think of reading as a long-term commitment. However, this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case, and there are lots of quick and easy ways to start reading — it’s never too late. Every bit of reading helps. Even just making [time for] 30 minutes a night can have substantial survival benefit,” Bavishi said.

Those who have long been avid readers say the health benefits are a bonus — but they do it because they love it.

“I was the kid who got in trouble for staying up past bedtime reading with a flashlight.  I have always loved it. I feel like it’s like watching a movie in my head, where I can case the characters,” said Danielle Orchard of Orlando, Florida.

She gets up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. every day to read — and spends no less than 45 minutes at it each morning.

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Same goes for Tim Morrissey, a retired broadcaster and part-time reporter from Madison, Wisconsin, who reads upwards of 25 to 30 hours a week.

“I have to stay informed to write news, so there’s the ‘information’ aspect, but the recreational reading is pure enjoyment,” he said. “My mother read to me constantly when I was a child, and I’ve loved reading all my life. It not only can broaden your views and keep you informed, it can help you enjoy life via ‘escape’ reading,” Morrissey said.

Related: Reading is the Secret to Lifelong Health

Another woman wonders if all the reading her 77-year-old mother does helps her stay fit physically and mentally. She’s in great health.

“Reading keeps her mind healthy and open. There is not much that she doesn’t know about. But she has never been physically active, yet she is in phenomenal physical shape. So maybe there is a link between lots of reading and not needing to exercise,” said Beth Korosac of her mother, who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Researchers say reading books could create survival advantages through the connections readers make to other parts of the material, the relevant applications to the outside world, and the critical thinking skills improved by exposure to books. Books can promote empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence — all of which are cognitive processes that can lead to greater survival.