We assume that reading helps with our intelligence and critical thinking skills, but did you know that reading regularly can actually help you live longer? In honor of the National Day of Reading on November 17th, let’s examine a few of the physical and mental health benefits of diving into a good book.

Short-Term Physiological Benefits

As high levels of stress are associated with a series of mental and physical health problems, stress management activities such as reading can help by lowering cortisol levels. Studies have shown that 30 minutes of reading has the same ability to decrease stress as 30 minutes of yoga.

“Reading has been connected to meditation in terms of the way our brain processes our environment and our physiological state,” Zoe Shaw, Psy.D., licensed psychotherapist and author of “A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself,” stated to TODAY.com.

“If you’re sitting in a chair or laying in your bed and you’re focusing on reading, your body can actually go into a type of meditative state,” Shaw says. “So, you can get some of the benefits of meditating by reading.”

Instead of scrolling on your phone before bed, which can lead to poor sleep quality, reading before bed can improve sleep quality. In 2021, researchers studied reading and sleep patterns and found that, overall, reading a book in bed before sleeping led participants to feel their quality of sleep improved.

Reading has also been shown to foster connection and conversation skills. A 2015 study, for example, found that above-average readers experienced a significantly higher rate of vocabulary growth compared to average readers.

Long-Term Physiological Benefits

A 2016 study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that reading can reduce mortality by up to 20%. And, according to the researchers, “any level of book reading gave a significantly stronger survival advantage,” particularly for adults 65 and older who “redirect leisure time” from watching TV into reading books.

The study specifically emphasizes the importance of reading books, rather than simply reading, as books added to a “survival advantage that was significantly greater than that observed for reading newspapers or magazines.”

Studies have also shown that older people who read have a lower risk of cognitive decline compared to those who don’t.

“Various activities, including reading, that are seen as cognitively engaging are definitely associated with better brain health,” Jonathan King, Ph.D., senior scientific advisor in the division of behavioral and social research at the National Institute on Aging, stated to TODAY.com.

Mental Health Benefits

According to a 2013 study, reading specifically literary fiction leads to an increased capacity for empathy and a better understanding of what people are thinking and feeling.

Reading also provides the body with opportunities for self-care and dedicated “me-time” that can be invaluable in a world with constant notifications and distractions that cost us a lot of mental energy.

“It’s not as relaxing to our body to read on computers or devices,” Shaw stated, explaining that when you read a book, your brain comes up with images to accompany what you’re reading about, engaging your creative mind while helping you relax at the same time.

“We’re gaining knowledge and, to a certain extent, caring for ourselves because we are expanding our understanding of the world, of ourselves – and that is self-care.”