“Bookworm Benefit” Will Have You Reading Again

By Dr. Scott Olson, ND Posted February 4, 2023

Dear Living Well Daily Reader,

When I was younger used to read all the time.

I’d wake up in the morning, sit up, and read for a while before starting my day. The book beside my bed was also a great way to unwind at the end of the day. Most nights, I read for at least an hour before closing my eyes.

All that changed as I grew older. My life got busier, my responsibilities increased, and that dang thing called a mobile phone was invented.

I’ve had to make a concerted EFFORT to bring reading back into my life.

In the last year, I’ve returned to my old habit of reading before I go to sleep. It helps me relax and sleep better than I would after looking at my phone.

Now some new research has revealed it’s doing something ELSE for me too.

If you’ve fallen behind on your reading as I had, you will want to know about this.

Because when you hear what reading can do for you. I bet YOU’LL turn back into a bookworm too.

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that reading for pleasure strengthens memory.

The researchers tested the volunteer’s cognitive skills. Then they were asked to read for 90 minutes a day, five days a week, for two months.

When the team retested their cognitive skills at the end of the two months, they were in for a surprise.

The readers had measurably better episodic AND working memory.

Episodic memory is the kind of recall you use for recent life events. And working memory is the ability to remember one thing when you start doing another.

As we get older, our episodic and working memory deteriorates. And brain diseases like dementia wreak havoc on both.

The researchers theorize that when you read for pleasure and need to remember characters and situations as you move through a story, this act of remembering trains your brain.

You can think of it as exercise for your mind.

The good news is it doesn’t matter what you read. You don’t have to wade through something heavy like War and Peace to get these benefits.

In fact, everything from an intellectual murder mystery to a trashy romance novel will boost your memory.

So go ahead and grab a book, pour yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, and settle in for a good story and some memory-boosting exercise.

P.S. To stay sharp as a tack… and hold on to more gray matter regardless of your age… try THIS brain-saving hack.

Source:

“The Effects of Sustained Literacy Engagement on Cognition and Sentence Processing Among Older Adults,” Front. Psychol., 11 July 2022, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923795

Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.

View More By Dr. Scott Olson, ND