Whether it is a novel by Charles Dickens or Jackie Collins, reading for pleasure is good for brain health. Regularly enjoying a good book has been linked to improved memory, empathy and mental health, among other benefits. This may be through its effect on brain structure or by building cognitive reserve.Â
“Reading is like a cognitive workout,” says at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands, who wasn’t involved in the research. But reading for pleasure has plummeted over the past 20 years, which may partly be due to us spending more time on social media.Â
In the latest research, at the University of Cambridge and her colleagues pooled evidence on the effects of reading from pleasure from five surveys and eight long-term studies, with tens of thousands of participants between them.Â
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Many of these linked reading to greater volume of grey matter – part of the brain that supports thinking and memory – and stronger communication between brain regions. This may be how reading builds cognitive reserve, says Sahakian. This is the brain’s ability to defend against ageing and adapt to damage, which is heavily shaped by our lifestyle.
Reading was also repeatedly linked to improved mental health. One study found that children who began reading for pleasure early in life had moderately larger brain surface areas and volumes in regions linked to emotional control. This feels particularly important amid evidence that youth mental health is worse today than it was decades ago, says Sahakian.
Overall, the team linked reading for pleasure to reduced stress, greater empathy, enhanced wellbeing and reduced loneliness. In childhood specifically, reading was associated with better attention, memory, executive function, academic achievement and fewer mental health problems. Among older adults, it was linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline.
Reading fiction may be particularly important by exposing us to narratives that allow our brain to practice how we might respond to life events, improving its predication abilities. It may also make us feel connected to the characters, reducing feelings of loneliness.Â
Non-fiction may stimulate different parts of the brain, says Sahakian. But what is important is that you “read for enjoyment, as you will read more often and longer”, she says.
Psychological Medicine
