My mother used to scold me about reading too much. ‘Go outside!’ she’d say. ‘Enjoy the sunshine!’ when she’d find me curled up with my nose in a book. Later, she’d tell me I was reading too many books. She was worried I was neglecting my schoolwork, but I could point out that my grades were keeping me on the honor roll every semester in high school, even while I was hauling home armloads of books from the library.
Turns out, I can now argue that my time spent reading might be adding years (ok, at least months) to my life. A study published in the Social Science & Medicine Journal concluded that reading books adds between 23 and four months to one’s life. Reading periodicals (i.e. magazines) adds a few months, but it’s books with their deep reading and immersive experience that really make a difference. But why? The study concludes that books improve reader’s emotional intelligence, empathy, and connections to society. When we dive into a book, we are conducting “”deep reading,” which is a slow, immersive process; this cognitive engagement occurs as the reader draws connections to other parts of the material, finds applications to the outside world, and asks questions about the content presented.” This unfurling of our mental processes, the study hypothesizes, leads to readers having a ‘survival advantage.’ 
And it’s not just reading non-fiction. I’ve had conversations with people who sniff at reading fiction, but statistics show that 87% of readers are readers of fiction. Fiction offers ways for readers to safely explore the world around them, the connections in society, the interactions humans can have, and in reading, develop their ability to think flexibly and to feel more connected to other humans. Reading offers a way to explore the world, history, and worlds only ever dreamt of. As the study authors said, it’s a way to ask, and answer, questions. Answer in more than one way, too. For all that we can have nearly limitless questions about the world that surrounds us, the answers are exponentially vaster. When was the world inhabited by 15 foot-tall fungus and little else? What is the fastest acceleration in nature? What is it about the warmth and wit of the comedy of manners written by Georgette Heyer that so engages and amuses us even now, making them timeless classics of romance? (I’ve been binging on Heyer as many of her titles are now available in Kindle Unlimited).
We can learn from books, but we also derive great comfort and escape from the stresses of daily life through reading. Fiction in particular has the capacity to transport us outside this world, and the cares that wear time off our lifespan. This, perhaps, accounts for some of the time readers gain at the end of the span that has not been eroded by as much stress as non-readers who cannot escape so readily.
I did get outside and still love spending time out-of-doors. But there’s time enough to do both. I still read, and I need to walk or hike more, but spring is coming (eventually!) and my reading time will slip a little while I prioritize that sunshine I do need. I won’t stop reading entirely, though. Even if it doesn’t make me live longer, it makes the life I’m living now seem easier and more pleasant. I’ll take that.
Comments
21 responses to “Read More, Live More”
This entry reminds me of the Chinese? proverb that claims time spent fishing is not counted against a person’s lifespan. I’d argue that time spent reading the good stuff similarly does not count.
I miss fishing. But that, I do not have time for!
I imagine if I had grown up in Alaska, I’d miss fishing, too. Alas, I did not, so it’s an activity I rarely even think about.
Grandpa ruined fishing for me. While so many go on about it as a means to get away and do ‘nothing’.. he had the audacity to keep catching fish, so I figured that was what it was about.
Salt-water fishing wore me out. Ever hand-cranked a 50 lb. amberjack from about 300 ft.? After about 45 minutes of a stout grouper rod bent into a U shape, I was done for the day. Guide offered to hook me up to another, but I told him no thanks.
Literally minutes ago:
“Go outside!”
“I don’t want to play outside.”
“I don’t care if you’re reading, but you need to be outside.”
“….oh!”
Sunlight, fresh air, and she’ll run off to play with her siblings in a few minutes, then come back to reading, and so on.
I got punished for reading under the covers with a flashlight long after my bedtime. Just thought of that, and am laughing as I type this.
*laughs* We’ve had to scold several times for that– their teacher is a grumpy guss, she doesn’t need any competition.
(explaining the joke– homeschooled)
I got punished for using up all the flashlight batteries!
Bought my own batteries with my lawn money. 🙂
Wasn’t really an option in the Alaskan Bush!
I would guess lemonade stands catering to local commuters were out of the question as a way to earn pocket money?
LOL! Well, we kids tried to run a trapline as a way to make pocket money (didn’t catch anything).
I did a lot of reading outside, too! Just be aware that a blanket in long grass and a nap with the book over your face means you can’t hear Mom calling…
Being inside, awake, and Truly Absorbed (even with walls nothing more than two pieces of thin paneling) has the same effect. Hypnosis? Oh, like when the story is good?
Ah…yes. I remember THAT incident, LOL! It wasn’t funny at the time — we thought we’d lost her for good! We were renting a small farm (24 acres, with a small orchard where the long grass was). Cedar was about ten, I think, and when we realized she was missing, I got up out of my sick bed (I’d been down with the flu) and staggered outside and leaned on my horse so I could walk around the big cow-pugged pasture looking for her. We hunted for her for a couple of hours before she finally woke up and stood up in the middle of the orchard where she’d been reading. Later we found out that our area had had a lot of children go missing and they thought there was a Satanic group kidnapping them (don’t know if that was true, but that was the rumor going around). I was SO glad we hadn’t heard about that before she went missing — we would have been having heart attacks.
I was about eight, I think. And I vaguely remember wondering what all the fuss was about.
Reading IS an escape from the humdrum of daily life. I do that on a regular basis!!!
Very interesting. I wonder what on earth inspired to researchers to think of a possible connection in the first place?
Related, there is some research suggesting that *fiction* reading, specifically, contributes to the development of empathy:
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/25946.html
Oh, certainly. I’ve written before about bilbliotherapy, as well. Fiction reading has much to recommend it!