Attention, bibliophiles: You may have already heard that reading reduces stress, makes you smarter, and can help you become a more empathetic, generous person. Now, Real Simple reports, new research provides us with yet another great reason to burrow our noses in a book: It might help us live longer lives.
For the study, which was published online in the journal Social Science & Medicine, Yale researchers wanted to see how reading books and periodicals affects lifespan. Typically, couch potato habits like, say, watching TV are tied with an increased risk of death. But past studies suggest that reading either lowers mortality rates or doesn't affect them at all, the researchers pointed out.
The scientists examined around 3600 people, ages 50 and up, who were asked questions about their reading habits. The data was taken from a longitudinal Health and Retirement Study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, The Washington Post reports. The researchers then sorted the subjects into three categories: individuals who didn’t read books at all, people who read up to 3.5 hours a week, and readers who spent more than 3.5 hours with their noses in a book each week.
After adjusting for factors like education, income, and health, the data revealed that, on average, “book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers." Full story...
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For the study, which was published online in the journal Social Science & Medicine, Yale researchers wanted to see how reading books and periodicals affects lifespan. Typically, couch potato habits like, say, watching TV are tied with an increased risk of death. But past studies suggest that reading either lowers mortality rates or doesn't affect them at all, the researchers pointed out.
The scientists examined around 3600 people, ages 50 and up, who were asked questions about their reading habits. The data was taken from a longitudinal Health and Retirement Study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, The Washington Post reports. The researchers then sorted the subjects into three categories: individuals who didn’t read books at all, people who read up to 3.5 hours a week, and readers who spent more than 3.5 hours with their noses in a book each week.
After adjusting for factors like education, income, and health, the data revealed that, on average, “book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers." Full story...
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