📚 Reading for a Healthier You 📚

From improving empathy and creativity to staving off dementia, there are countless benefits to reading.

Did you know that reading can enhance brain connectivity and function? Research shows that stories impact the brain both psychologically and neurologically. A study in which participants’ brains were scanned before, during, and five days after reading a novel found ongoing neurological changes. The results showed that there were changes in the brain’s resting state after participants had finished reading the novel. The study’s lead, American neuroscientist Professor Gregory Berns, explains: “Even though the participants were not actually reading the novel while they were in the scanner, they retained this heightened connectivity. We call that a ‘shadow activity’, almost like muscle memory. The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist. We already know that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”

Learn more on about healthy impacts of reading from The South African College of Applied Psychology