The Benefits of Reading

A study done by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences data shows that among various age groups ranging from 15- 75+ the average time spent reading dropped by a mean of 8.7 minutes. Additionally the National Literacy Trust published findings that show that only 26% of children 18 and under spend some time reading every day. The number of bookstores from 1992 to now has fallen by more than half. The amount of time kids spend reading is less than any previous generation.

This is a serious issue, especially among children, where lack of reading can cause issues that lead to serious problems later in life. Children can struggle with low self esteem and feelings of inadequacy. We’ve seen that in cases like juvenile crime, school discipline, attendance problems, and school dropouts, reading issues are a common factor. Adults could be at higher risk for cognitive decline.

To be more specific, reading can improve your life in all areas, but for simplicity’s sake in this essay they are broken down into physical, mental, and emotional.

Starting with the physical benefits, reading for pleasure can lower heart rate and blood pressure, help you get better sleep and even live longer. The lowering of heart rate and blood pressure is due to the relaxing qualities of reading, which are more detailed in paragraph 9.  An article published by the Mayo Clinic recommends reading for pleasure before bed as one of the activities you can do to calm yourself down and get better rest. Furthermore a study published by Oxford University Press states that of the participants in the study, those who read for pleasure typically had a longer lifespan than those who didn’t, ranging from 4 months to 2 years. 

Reading for pleasure can have immense positive effects on the brain, including better brain connectivity, increased vocabulary and comprehension, and prevention of cognitive decline

 Brain connectivity is essentially the way different parts of your brain speak to each other. There are countless articles outlining how brain connectivity issues lead to learning difficulties. Reading also helps with improving memory. As for cognitive decline, studies have found that reading reduced memory loss by more than 30%. On top of that, Alzheimers symptoms can be prevented by doing mental challenges, for example, reading. A study by Harvard shows that those who kept mentally active were significantly less likely to develop mental issues. 

While the evidence in the previous paragraph are all added benefits and not necessities, there are dire consequences when the rates of children’s time spent reading goes down. It’s been observed that children who are not reading on grade level by third grade have trouble with academics every year after. This is what leads to the aforementioned rates of dropouts, attendance problems, and school disciplinary issues.

As well as preventing academic complications, reading for pleasure can actively work against mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

Reading is effective in fighting self-esteem difficulties, high stress levels, and existing depression symptoms. People who read regularly have lower rates of depression than non-readers, proving that reading for enjoyment can sometimes prevent depression entirely.  Additionally, a study done by Duke University, found that people with a higher p-factor score, the p-factor being how likely someone with a mental illness is to suffer from more mental illnesses, also had poor communication from 4 regions in the visual cortex. This can be simplified as brain connectivity issues, which, as stated in paragraph 6, is benefitted by reading for enjoyment. To simplify, reading can actively fight, and prevent mental illness.

You could argue that enough time in your day is spent reading email, texts, magazines, or work reports, that reading for pleasure isn’t necessary. This argument is quite flawed in that while this kind of reading may grant improved vocabulary, comprehension, and prevent cognitive decline, it denies almost entirely the benefits on your physical and emotional health.

With all of the benefits of reading and consequences of neglecting it, the down trend in the time people spend doing the activity is a serious issue. For kids it can lead to trouble with schoolwork, further leading to an increase of dropouts. In adults it can lead to higher rates of cognitive decline. In general it can lead to higher stress levels, poorer quality of sleep, and more prevalent symptoms of depression. Reading for pleasure can be incredibly beneficial for all ages and all a person needs to do is to do it for a few extra minutes per day.