People truly are reading less these days, especially for fun.
It’s the central concern of a new study published in iScience that’s quantified just how much less reading people in the U.S. have been doing compared to a few decades ago.
Researchers from the University of Florida and University College London discovered a 40% decline in casual reading from 2003 to 2023. The data came from measuring the reading habits of 236,000 American Time Use Survey participants.
“This is not just a small dip — it’s a sustained, steady decline of about 3% per year,” study researcher Jill Sonke, Ph.D., said in a news release. “It’s significant, and it’s deeply concerning.”
Sonke’s concern rests with the profound health and life enrichment benefits years of research have associated with reading for fun. Those are benefits far fewer in the U.S. will get to experience, if the trend continues.
“Reading has historically been a low-barrier, high-impact way to engage creatively and improve quality of life,” Sonke said. “When we lose one of the simplest tools in our public health tool kit, it’s a serious loss.”
But how exactly does reading benefit the reader? According to the experts, some of the benefits start at a young age, while others significantly help older adults. Whatever your age, reading can make a real difference. Here are five great reasons to start that next chapter:
1. Reading enhances well-being
Neuroscientist and IAM Lab communications specialist Richard Sima, Ph.D., explained in Psychology Today in 2022 that one of the major benefits of reading for fun is “narrative absorption,” an opportunity for readers to step away from their daily worries for some much needed contemplation.
“The experience of being immersed or engaged while reading a story is called narrative absorption and serves as more than an innately pleasurable experience — it can also enhance our sense of well-being,” he wrote. “Researchers believe that mentally transporting ourselves away from our physical surroundings can provide an escape or opportunity for meaningful contemplation.”
2. May add years to your life
Older adults who read books regularly may find themselves living longer.
In 2016, researchers from the Yale University School of Public Health published their findings from a longevity study cohort that investigated the possible life-extending benefits of cracking open a good book. Using survey data of 5,635 participants 50 or older from the Health and Retirement Study, the researchers discovered a 20% reduction in mortality rates over a 12-year period among the study’s book readers compared to nonreaders.
“This is a novel finding (in both senses of the word), as previous studies did not compare types of reading material; it indicates that book reading rather than reading in general is driving a survival advantage,” the study reported.
3. Strengthens memory
Researchers from the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the University of Illinois published a study in 2022 on the potential memory-boosting benefits of reading for older adults. Seventy-six adults, ranging from 60 to 79 years old, were given suggested reading material (novels, biographies, etc.) and asked to read for 90 minutes a day, five days a week for eight weeks on iPads.
Compared to the control group who were given puzzles to complete each day, the readers showed significantly better memory skills after the two months were up.
“Leisure reading, the kind that really sucks you in, is good for you, and it helps build the mental abilities on which reading depends,” study senior investigator Liz Stine-Morrow said in a news release.
“There’s more promise in engaging fully in the stimulating things that we already do in our lives,” she said. “That’s probably the best pathway to maintaining our mental ability and offsetting the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.”
4. Improves relationships
A major benefit of reading is its ability to improve empathy, a powerful tool in the building of strong, healthy relationships with friends and family.
“Reading about people who are different from us can help us understand another person’s life experience and give us gratitude for our own life experience,” psychotherapist Angela Buttimer told the Atlanta health care system Piedmont.
“It’s also helpful to read books about people who have gone through the same things we have. They may have a way of describing their experience that helps us articulate our own experience.”
5. Has even more brain benefits for kids
Reading can be incredibly beneficial for adults, but children have even more to gain. According to a 2023 study published in Psychological Medicine, reading up to 12 hours a week has been linked to improved brain structure in kids.
The researchers studied cognitive data from 10,243 participants in the U.S.-based Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Researchers discovered a strong link between children who regularly read for pleasure and better mental performance, particularly when it came to memory, speech development and schooling.
“Reading isn’t just a pleasurable experience — it’s widely accepted that it inspires thinking and creativity, increases empathy and reduces stress,” study researcher and University of Cambridge professor Barbara Sahakian said in a news release.
“But on top of this, we found significant evidence that it’s linked to important developmental factors in children, improving their cognition, mental health and brain structure, which are cornerstones for future learning and well-being.”
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