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Can reading help general well-being?
By Rifaat Al-Nasser, Jordan News
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Reading is an
incredibly useful daily tool and has been actively emphasized since childhood.
However, in the past century, reading for leisure has dramatically declined. اضافة اعلان
A study conducted in the Netherlands between 1955 and 1995 assessed that amount of time spent reading for leisure was reduced by 44 percent in 40 years. This study attributed the popularization of television to this steep decline.
Currently, the age of the internet rules supremely. In this era of information, endless amounts of books, literature, and articles are at the tips of our fingers. Reading material is in no short supply, yet videos, movies, and short posts have captured the younger generation’s attention.
With these technological changes, is there still a role for a good old-fashion book, and how does reading impact well-being?
Different forms of reading
Reading can be done for academic purposes or leisure, and both offer many benefits; and despite the recorded decline, the younger generation still reads for both purposes.
A 2020 study conducted in Malaysia aimed to assess university students’ general attitudes regarding reading found that 67.6 percent of participants read for leisure at least once a week, and 41.3 percent read daily. Similarly, 67.5 percent of participants read academically at least once a week, 37.5 percent of which read daily.
However, there is one notable exception that may affect academic readers more than leisure readers regarding the medium. A 2016 study also conducted on university students wanted to assess the effects of reading mediums on comprehension and found that when compared to those who read from a digital source, printed readers outperformed in areas of understanding the main idea, key points, and other information.
The researchers speculated that these differences were likely due to factors such as navigation difficulties with digital text and strain from the light.
Benefits of reading
Language
From a practical standpoint, reading greatly impacts language and the ability to communicate. Whether reading fiction, non-fiction, or academic works, we become exposed to new vocabulary and the context in which they are used.
As we learn new words, we can apply them to our lives in various situations. When relating this to well-being, increasing your vocabulary can help with interpersonal relationships. It will allow us to explain better and convey certain ideas and emotions more efficiently.
Increased vocabulary will help us sound more intelligent and convincing, which, in turn, can help create a successful career.
Emotional
Novels are the original movies and TV shows. They can encapsulate us and make us feel a wide variety of emotions. Novels do a lot more than tear-jerk or make us angry over fictional characters; they can help us improve an important quality of humans known as empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It is one of the most defining characteristics of humans, and those who read, particularly works of fiction, improve their sense of empathy by understanding the lives and tragedies of characters. This concept is known as the theory of mind and is defined as the ability for us to attribute mental states, beliefs, intents, emotions, and more to ourselves and others.
Long-term fiction readers can improve and better develop the theory of mind, which can then serve as an essential tool for building, navigating, and maintaining social relationships.
Cognitive
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurogenerative disease that typically appears later in life. As the disease progresses, so does cognitive decline. Even for those who do not have Alzheimer’s, as we age, our cognition may begin to decline and develop into dementia.
Although there is no guarantee that reading can prevent age-related cognitive decline outright, it can help reduce the odds. Research has also suggested that the sooner one starts reading, the better their chances, as highlighted in a 2013 study on lifelong engaging activities’ effects on dementia.
Stress management
It is known that doing things we enjoy can help reduce stress. For those who enjoy reading, this is an easy solution to reduce stress.
A 2009 study conducted on university students found that when compared to other activities such as yoga or humor and comedy, reading can be just as effective in reducing stress. This study found that only 30 minutes of reading can decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of distress equivalently to the aforementioned activities.
Reading has the additional benefit of being easy to incorporate into daily life. One of the most cited reasons for increased stress was lack of time, and reading is a simple task that can be done almost anywhere.
Sleep
Sleep is a fundamental part of overall well-being. Difficulties with sleep can dramatically affect our mental health. Things like stress can make sleeping difficult, and to help, many doctors may recommend reading to aid in falling asleep since it can reduce stress and relax the body.
The best way to go about this is by reading someplace other than your bed an hour or two before bedtime. In this case, printed books are preferred over digital devices. This is because the blue light emitted from screens can disrupt your day-night cycle and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Longevity
Reading has many benefits on general wellness and even some on physical health. It comes as no surprise that reading can help improve life expectancy.
A 2012 long-term study conducted over 12 years found that those who read books lived an average of two years longer compared to those who did not read at all. The study also noted that those who read more than three and a half hours per week were 23 percent more likely to live longer than those who did not read at all.
This is not to say that those who read are guaranteed longevity, but it certainly helps.
Read more Health
Jordan News
A study conducted in the Netherlands between 1955 and 1995 assessed that amount of time spent reading for leisure was reduced by 44 percent in 40 years. This study attributed the popularization of television to this steep decline.
Currently, the age of the internet rules supremely. In this era of information, endless amounts of books, literature, and articles are at the tips of our fingers. Reading material is in no short supply, yet videos, movies, and short posts have captured the younger generation’s attention.
With these technological changes, is there still a role for a good old-fashion book, and how does reading impact well-being?
Different forms of reading
Reading can be done for academic purposes or leisure, and both offer many benefits; and despite the recorded decline, the younger generation still reads for both purposes.
A 2020 study conducted in Malaysia aimed to assess university students’ general attitudes regarding reading found that 67.6 percent of participants read for leisure at least once a week, and 41.3 percent read daily. Similarly, 67.5 percent of participants read academically at least once a week, 37.5 percent of which read daily.
Reading material is in no short supply, yet videos, movies, and short posts have captured the younger generation’s attention.The same study found that around 66 percent of participants prefer digital material over printed texts. While there have been concerns that the medium used to read impacts the benefit, there is no reason to believe that most benefits between the two forms are impacted due to the medium.
However, there is one notable exception that may affect academic readers more than leisure readers regarding the medium. A 2016 study also conducted on university students wanted to assess the effects of reading mediums on comprehension and found that when compared to those who read from a digital source, printed readers outperformed in areas of understanding the main idea, key points, and other information.
The researchers speculated that these differences were likely due to factors such as navigation difficulties with digital text and strain from the light.
Benefits of reading
Language
From a practical standpoint, reading greatly impacts language and the ability to communicate. Whether reading fiction, non-fiction, or academic works, we become exposed to new vocabulary and the context in which they are used.
As we learn new words, we can apply them to our lives in various situations. When relating this to well-being, increasing your vocabulary can help with interpersonal relationships. It will allow us to explain better and convey certain ideas and emotions more efficiently.
Increased vocabulary will help us sound more intelligent and convincing, which, in turn, can help create a successful career.
Emotional
Novels are the original movies and TV shows. They can encapsulate us and make us feel a wide variety of emotions. Novels do a lot more than tear-jerk or make us angry over fictional characters; they can help us improve an important quality of humans known as empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It is one of the most defining characteristics of humans, and those who read, particularly works of fiction, improve their sense of empathy by understanding the lives and tragedies of characters. This concept is known as the theory of mind and is defined as the ability for us to attribute mental states, beliefs, intents, emotions, and more to ourselves and others.
Long-term fiction readers can improve and better develop the theory of mind, which can then serve as an essential tool for building, navigating, and maintaining social relationships.
Cognitive
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurogenerative disease that typically appears later in life. As the disease progresses, so does cognitive decline. Even for those who do not have Alzheimer’s, as we age, our cognition may begin to decline and develop into dementia.
Although there is no guarantee that reading can prevent age-related cognitive decline outright, it can help reduce the odds.Many studies have shown that keeping our minds engaged daily can help maintain and improve cognitive function. Reading is an excellent example of a way to keep the mind engaged.
Although there is no guarantee that reading can prevent age-related cognitive decline outright, it can help reduce the odds. Research has also suggested that the sooner one starts reading, the better their chances, as highlighted in a 2013 study on lifelong engaging activities’ effects on dementia.
Stress management
It is known that doing things we enjoy can help reduce stress. For those who enjoy reading, this is an easy solution to reduce stress.
A 2009 study conducted on university students found that when compared to other activities such as yoga or humor and comedy, reading can be just as effective in reducing stress. This study found that only 30 minutes of reading can decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of distress equivalently to the aforementioned activities.
Reading has the additional benefit of being easy to incorporate into daily life. One of the most cited reasons for increased stress was lack of time, and reading is a simple task that can be done almost anywhere.
Sleep
Sleep is a fundamental part of overall well-being. Difficulties with sleep can dramatically affect our mental health. Things like stress can make sleeping difficult, and to help, many doctors may recommend reading to aid in falling asleep since it can reduce stress and relax the body.
The best way to go about this is by reading someplace other than your bed an hour or two before bedtime. In this case, printed books are preferred over digital devices. This is because the blue light emitted from screens can disrupt your day-night cycle and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Longevity
Reading has many benefits on general wellness and even some on physical health. It comes as no surprise that reading can help improve life expectancy.
A 2012 long-term study conducted over 12 years found that those who read books lived an average of two years longer compared to those who did not read at all. The study also noted that those who read more than three and a half hours per week were 23 percent more likely to live longer than those who did not read at all.
This is not to say that those who read are guaranteed longevity, but it certainly helps.
Read more Health
Jordan News
