I have to admit it. I don't read books anymore. As life gets busier and busier I find less time for reading. At first I hid that fact from my well educated friends but it became harder to do each time they'd turn to me and ask, "What have you been reading?" I still read but my reading has shifted from literary novels to online articles, studies, surveys, and occasional poetry. Consequently, I'm still experiencing learning and appreciating writing but I no longer have the sense of getting away that I used to enjoy in a novel nor do I need to imagine scenes and settings or track multiple characters as I would to comprehend a story. The further away I drift from reading books the more I've wondered if other people my age are having this experience and what, if any, cognitive problems might result from a prolonged hiatus from reading. In the course of my research, I was surprised to find out how good reading is for our health!
Are you reading? If you're over 65 there's a strong chance that you are. In fact, according to a recently published survey (which, of course I read) from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), you're likely to be enjoying a literary book of some kind such as a novel or short stories. All age groups over 65 showed significant increases in reading between 2008 and 2012 but under 65 (that's me) there were decreases at every age level with the largest percentage decreases between the ages 35 and 64. On the other hand, more people 65-74 read a book last year than any other age group and the largest percentage increase in readership occurred among those of us who are 75 or older!
Increases in readers 65 and older is important because reading provides safeguards against multiple age related problems. It was widely reported earlier this year, for instance, that lifelong reading significantly decreased the likelihood of Alzheimers and slowed cognitive decline. The study, while encouraging, was scientifically inconclusive yet science knows that brain exercise, which we get from reading, is a critical component of mental fitness and good mental fitness does seem to slow and sometimes guard against cognitive decline with age. In fact reading is uniquely challenging to our minds and exacts greater demands then imagery or spoken words. The sense of getting lost in a book is a very real phenomenon. MRI imagery shows that our entire brain is stimulated by imagining the settings that surround our characters and the senses and feelings they experience.
Not all reading is the same. Our brains react differently when we read fiction or read studies and essays. Brand new research is finding a distinct difference in psychological benefit. Short story readers seem to gain greater tolerance for uncertainty through their reading while essay readers look for more closure. The Toronto group evaluating these outcomes adds that the "double release," in fiction, "—of thinking through events without concerns for urgency and permanence, and thinking in ways that are different than one’s own..." decreases the reader's need for definitive conclusion. Consequently, fiction may help us cope with these stressful and uncertain times while essay and survey evaluation may push us to want to find conclusion or closure.
Reading articles, studies and surveys I never have the experience that I can't put the text down but I remember that feeling from a good story. What's happening when we can't put a book down? It may be more than the urge to finish a scene. The act of reading fiction is greatly reducing stress. In fact, reading a book provides stress reduction quicker than most forms of exercise or relaxation. On average just six minutes of reading slows the heart rate and relaxes tight muscles.
The power of reading can have even greater positive effect on emotional health."Reading pushes the pain away into a place where it no longer seems important," Kate, a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer, tells the guardian news in their probe into a reading therapy group program called "Get Into Reading." The program is yielding strong anecdotal success however demonstrating bibliotherapy's generalized effectiveness in treatment settings has been scientifically elusive. Bibliotherapy, the use of books within a therapeutic or organized treatment program, is widely used by mental health and guidance professionals and often studied. Recent research has looked at its efficacy in treating later life anxiety, later life mild to moderate depressions, alcohol abuse, tinnitus distress, and panic attacks. I credit fiction for getting me through my twenties. Bibliotherapy suggests that fiction could aid in coping with the challenges of the 70's, 80's and 90's.
Like many people I've talked with, I was instilled with a love of books as a child. Having fiction fall out of my life was a slow gradual process of stranding characters, sending stories back to the library unread, and finally not reading books at all. I'll never stop reading but, as I suspected, there are special benefits to reading fiction that are as important for us as the thrills and excitement of a story. Therapy, relaxation, coping skills, and unique mental exercise. Outside of physical exercise there may be few things we can do that offer so much in return. I'll get back to fiction. Maybe, as the NEA survey suggests, it'll happen when I turn 65! Meanwhile, dear reader, I'm wishing you the health and happiness of a great book!
Update Jan 2014--In a recent study changes in the brain that occur while we read last for up to five days after we close the book!
