The more you read, the more you live

There have been many studies of the benefits of reading and it seems that it will soon make us immortal since it seems that reading is not only entertainment or a way of evaporating from the world but is also capable of prolonging life, according to one new study claiming that people who read books for 30 minutes a day live longer than those who read nothing at all.

The study, published in the September issue of the journal Social Science & Medicine, looked at the reading patterns of 3635 people who were 50 and older. On average, it was found that readers live approximately two years longer than non-readerss.

Respondents they were divided between those who read for 3.5 hours or more a week, those who read up to a maximum of 3.5 hours a week, and those who read nothing at all, further controlled by other factors such as gender, race and education. Thus, the researchers discovered 12 years later that those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die while those who read up to 3.5 hours a week were 17% less likely to die. die, a lower percentage than those who spend more time reading.

In general, throughout the entire follow-up, 33% of non-readers die compared to 27% of readers.

“When readers were compared to nonreaders in 80% of mortality (the time it takes the remaining 20% ​​of the group to die) non-readers lived 85 months, 7 years, while readers lived 108 months, 9 years. Therefore, reading books provides a survival of approximately 23 months. "

Of course, the more time is spent reading, the higher the life expectancy of the person but they affirm that with only 30 minutes a day, half an hour, it is already quite beneficial in terms of survival.

Some specific readings for a longer life are also specified in the document.

"We have found that reading books provides greater benefit than reading newspapers or magazines. We have also found that this effect is probably due to the fact that the books engage more in the reader's mind, providing a more cognitive benefit and therefore an increase in life expectancy. "

There are two types of cognitive processes involved in reading books that could create a survival advantage. First, reading promotes the slow immersion process of “deep reading,” a cognitive engagement that occurs when the reader draws connections, finds real-world applications, and asks questions about the content presented to them.

“Cognitive engagement can explain why vocabulary, reasoning, concentration, critical thinking, and skills are enhanced by exposure to books. On the other hand, books can promote empathy, solar perception and emotional intelligence, which are the cognitive processes that can lead to greater survival. "

“We had seen some mixed effects in the previous literature that seemed to indicate that reading in general may be a survival advantage. However, we were impressed with the magnitude of the difference in effect between reading books and reading newspapers and magazines"

Despite the fact that the survey did not specify which genre of books they were reading, they comment that most likely the majority of participants were reading science fiction. He also comments that in future reviews they would like to see if he could find additional health benefits in addition to achieving a longer life expectancy as well as if similar effects occur when reading e-books or audiobooks and also the difference between fiction and non-fiction reading as well as the different genres.