Guilt-Free Indulgence

By Dr. Mercola

Do you enjoy sitting down with a good book? This is one hobby you should feel free to indulge in without guilt, as reading is linked to a variety of benefits, both mental and physical.

In fact, new research published in the journal Social Science & Medicine revealed book readers live an average of two years longer than non-readers. Specifically, compared to people who read no books, those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week had a 17 percent lower risk of dying over the next 12 years.

Those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week fared even better; they had a 23 percent lower risk of dying prematurely. Broken down, this means that reading for just 30 minutes a day may offer a major health advantage.

Children exposed to chronic aircraft noise, for instance, are more likely to have impairment in reading comprehension and long-term memory.¹⁵ In addition, background noise may also have a significant impact on toddlers’ ability to learn language.

Most studies into early word learning take place in a quiet setting, but real-life learning often takes place in noisy environments. One recent study found that 2-year-olds were able to learn new words when there was quiet background noise but not when the background noise was loud.¹⁶

A second experiment similarly found the toddlers could learn the meaning of new words in the presence of loud background noise only if they had previously been taught the words in a quiet setting.

This underscores the challenges facing many poor children, who are more likely to live in loud environments. Study co-author Jenny R. Saffran, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin, said:¹⁷

“Hearing new words in fluent speech without a lot of background noise before trying to learn what objects the new words corresponded to may help very young children master new vocabulary.”

In related news, children’s book publisher Scholastic released a survey in 2015 showing only 31 percent of 6- to 17-year-olds surveyed had read a book for fun almost daily. This is down from 37 percent in 2010.¹⁸ If you’d like your child to be a frequent reader as an older child, adolescent and adult, the report found you should continuing reading aloud even after your child learns to read himself.

Being read to aloud early and often predicted frequent reading among children ages 6-11. Spending less time online using a computer was also important.

Seventy-Two Percent of Americans Have Read a Book in the Past Year

Taking the time to read is often viewed as an indulgent pleasure, one many people may feel they don’t have time for. But you needn’t feel guilty for relaxing with a good book. You might even want to carve out at least 20 or 30 minutes to do so daily.

The bottom line is, this simple activity gives your body and mind some much-needed time to recharge and regroup from its ordinary responsibilities. At the same time, it exercises your brain and your emotional health and gives you a chance to engage in creative and imaginative thought.

Fortunately, even with the temptation to binge on recorded TV shows or movies, or surf the web instead, 72 percent of U.S. adults say they have read a book in the past year.¹⁹ Even better, the average number of books read in the previous year was 12, which means many are able to read at least one book a month.

If you want to make time for more reading in two weeks. You can also form an informal book club with friends by reading the same book your life, try setting a reading goal for yourself, such as finishing a book every week or and then getting together to discuss it.

Sources and References

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Guilt-Free Indulgence

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