You're not doing yourself any favors if you're in the 26 percent of American adults who haven't read even part of a book within the past year.More than a quarter - 26 percent - of American adults
admit to not having read even part of a book within the past year. That's according to
statistics coming out of the
Pew Research Center. If you're part of this group, know that science supports the idea that reading is
good for you on several levels.
Reading fiction can help you be more open-minded and creativeAccording to research conducted at the
University of Toronto, study participants who read short-story fiction experienced far less need for "cognitive closure" compared with counterparts who read nonfiction essays. Essentially, they tested as more open-minded, compared with the readers of essays. "Although nonfiction reading allows students to learn the subject matter, it may not always help them in thinking about it," the authors write. "A physician may have an encyclopedic knowledge of his or her subject, but this may not prevent the physician from seizing and freezing on a diagnosis, when additional symptoms point to a different malady."
People who read books live longerThat's according to
Yale researchers who studied 3,635 people older than 50 and found that those who read books for 30 minutes daily lived an average of 23 months longer than nonreaders or magazine readers. Apparently, the practice of reading books creates cognitive engagement that improves lots of things, including vocabulary, thinking skills, and concentration. It also can affect empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence, the sum of which helps people stay on the planet longer.
Reading 50 books a year is something you can actually accomplishWhile about a book a week might sound daunting, it's probably doable by even the busiest of people. Writer
Stephanie Huston says her thinking that she didn't have enough time turned out to be a lame excuse. Now that she has made a goal to read 50 books in a year, she says that she has traded wasted time on her phone for flipping pages in bed, on trains, during meal breaks, and while waiting in line. Two months into her challenge, she reports having more peace and satisfaction and improved sleep, while learning more than she thought possible.
Successful people are readersIt's because high achievers are keen on self-improvement. Hundreds of successful executives have shared with me the
books that have
helped them get where they are today. Need
ideas on where to start? Titles that have repeatedly made their
lists include:
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz;
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight;
Good to Great by Jim Collins; and
Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson.
Comment: More interesting information about how reading benefits your brain: