Book readers lived longer in a 12-year study

In a 12-year study of adults, people who read books lived longer on average than people who did not.

The study

Researchers followed 3,635 people from a nationally representative health and retirement study. After accounting for age, education, health, wealth, and other factors, book readers had a 20% lower risk of dying over the 12 years than people who did not read books. The link was stronger for books than for newspapers or magazines. This is an observational study: it shows that book reading and longer life went together, not that reading caused it.

Starting small

Reading is worth doing for its own enjoyment. A chapter a day, or even a few pages before bed, is an easy habit to begin with.