Reading a chapter a
day may be so good for your health that it may lead to a longer life - on average two years longer
than people who don’t read books.
Researchers in America
analyzed data of more than 3,500 people over the age of 50 as part of a wider
health study. Researchers asked them questions about their reading habits, then
divided them into three groups: (1) people who did not read any books, (2)
people who read books for up to 3.5 hours a week, and (3) people who read books
for more than 3.5 hours per week. Tracking them for over a year, taking health
study data on the same people, and accounting for factors such as gender,
education levels, income, and race, researchers were able to draw conclusions
about the link between reading and longevity.
The results showed
that people over the age of 50 who read books for up to 3.5 hours per week – on
average, the equivalent of a chapter a day – were 17% less likely to die over
the following 12 months than people who did not read any books. Those who read
books for more than 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die over the
following 12 month period than people who did not read any books.
Reseachers said, ‘People
who report as little as half-hour a day of book reading had a significant
survival advantage over those who did not read.’
It is unclear why
reading books led people to living an average of two years longer than people
who were not book readers. But they do know that books have a positive impact
on a person’s life.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of
Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet
(2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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