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There are people around us with different perspective towards life, some get frustrated in their youth because of lack, break-ups, lack of excitement, boredom such that they wish for not living longer.
I would like to share a little incident supporting my claim above
Back in my teens, there was this lady who was my neighbor, I believe, around 7-8 years older than me who used to talk about not living past 60. On asking why she wished to restrict her life span to 60, she would answer, ‘there is no reason, just like that’.
I didn’t pay much attention at that time but now 12 years later when I think over it and after all the reading that I have done and adding all the factors, I conclude that there was scarcity of excitement in her life.
She was going nowhere and had refused to take control of her life to shift it towards bliss which is why she wanted it to end before 60.
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A different view
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However, there are people with a different view towards life. They do want to live as much as possible.
These folks find peace in their struggle, happiness in lack because they have hope. Hope is a deadly weapon when it comes to striking down negativity, lack, pain, suffering, fear and anxiety.
Some of these folks take to reading books. Reading books make them outperform their negative emotions, it produces a ray of hope which expunges the darkness that lurks in the deepest corners of our minds.
What I am going to tell now is important for both book readers and also for those who can’t find time to read books or who have totally given up on reading.
A research published by Yale University shows that reading books adds years to your life span.
The research claims that the people who read books tend to live longer than those who don’t. So, if you read books and are an avid reader then you must be happy as you are going to live 2 years more than those who don’t read books.
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A sensational Research
Researchers did an experiment in which they picked up 3635 people of age equal to or more than 50 years. They divided the people into 3 groups –
1) Non Readers
2) Readers who read books less than 3.5 hours per week
3) Readers who read books more than 3.5 hours per week
They regularly followed up with every single person belonging to the groups for 12 years and here’s what they concluded
1) People who read books equal to or less than 3 and a half hours a week have 17% better chances of living than the non-readers. This means the mortality rate of these readers gets reduced by 17%.
2) People who read books greater than 3 and a half hours a week have 23% better chances of living than the non-readers which means, the mortality rate of these readers gets reduced by 23%
So, on an average if you are an avid reader who daily gives 40 minutes a day to reading books then, cheer up! Because, on an average you’re going to live 24 months more than yours peers.
Now, if you’re wondering that there may be other factors which influence the life span other than reading books for more than 3.5 hours a week like social status, caste status, gender etc. then rejoice more because the study applies to people of irrespective of health conditions, social status, wealth and gender.
An interesting thing which needs attention here is the study has specifically focused on book reading. However, the results of those who stick to newspaper reading or reading in general are weaker.
The book readers always a better survival advantage than those who read in general like blogs and newspapers. But, important thing is that reading is better than no reading at all.
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What is it that adds 2 years to a book reader’s life?
Have you ever heard about cognition? Cognitive abilities?
As per Wikipedia,” cognition is the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thoughts, experience and the senses “.
It’s what our mind has been programmed to do naturally, taking knowledge from our senses, our experiences etc. Cognitive processes use existing knowledge and produce new knowledge.
Reading books enhances cognitive processes such as deep reading which involves reading carefully and slowly such that you grasp every aspect of the text, enjoy it by creating an atmosphere of what you’re reading around you.
It’s not like that people who went under experiment and who were tick marked as the ones likely to live longer than others had improved cognitive faculties. The levels of the cognitive faculties in each of these people were more or less same.
In addition to the above, reading instills healthy habits over a period of time and reduces stress of mind, anxiety in a diligent manner, imposing its followers to live nothing but a hopeful life.
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Reading books joins Yoga & exercise
21st century is all about learning from the mistakes that we have made in the past in the health area, which has led to lifestyle diseases.
With most of the doctors, and health blog informing us to lean towards adapting exercise and yoga in our daily routine, this research brings a new member to this club – reading books.
So, if you are a voracious reader then you’ve got every reason to rejoice and celebrate, but keep in mind that no matter what happens you don’t give up on this habit, but, if in any case you have given up on reading or you loath reading then it’s the time to think again because reading books is now a known factor for living a long, healthy and intelligent life.
Therefore, next time you pick up a book to read or you get that feeling of not touching the book then remind yourself that you will live a delightful life of at least 24 months more than your peers who don’t read books.
Believe me! When you cross 50 and you’ll see your grandchildren growing up you’ll really crave for more years in your life span.
Cheers !
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