A new study by Yale University found that reading books was positively correlated with increased lifespan—— people who read books lived for around two years longer than those who didn’t.

In the study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, researchers evaluated data on 3,635 Americans aged over 50. Respondents were separated into those who read for 3.5 hours or more a week, those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week, and those who didn’t read at all, controlling for factors such as gender, race and education.

The researchers discovered that those who read for more than 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die within 12 years, while those who read for up to 3.5 hours a week were 17% less likely to die within that period.

Co-author of the study, Becca R. Levy, Professor of Epidemiology at Yale University, told the New York Times, “People who report as little as a half-hour a day of book reading had a significant survival advantage over those who did not read.”

The researchers found that people who read books showed stronger cognitive abilities, such as recall and counting backwards.

However, reading magazines or newspapers didn’t have the same effect unless readers spent more than seven hours on the activity each week. This was associated with an 11% reduction in mortality.

It is not clear why there is such a strong association between reading and longevity although previous studies have suggested that people who read books tend to be healthier, richer, and better educated in general, all of which could contribute to a longer life.

A separate survey of 4,164 adults in the UK, including both those who read and those who don’t, found that adults who read for just 20 minutes a week are 20% more likely to feel satisfied with their lives. By contrast, non-readers were 28% more likely to report feelings of depression than those who read regularly for pleasure. One in five readers said that reading helps them to feel less lonely.

“Reading not only helps to introduce or reconnect readers to wider life systems and more broadly shared meanings. It can also remind people of activities or occupations they once pursued, or knowledge and skills they still possess, helping to restore their sense of having a place and purpose in the world,” Josie Billington, one of the researchers explains.

I must have been about 8 years old, and we were nearing the end of the first chapter of Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rowl. My mother was reading, and as the words to those first few pages filled the room, I remember the feeling that my heart filled up. The boy, the dogs, the forest: it was all so amazing, so new, and yet somehow so familiar.

It was one of many books my mother read to us as children. She started before I can remember, and continued until she thought we were no longer into it. Actually, I never really did outgrow it. I knew it was special then, and I realize even more so now. I know reading to children has educational benefits that reach beyond childhood.

Perhaps the most important value is one that cannot be easily measured: quality time. We are fortunate in a number of ways if we had an adult in our lives who had the resources and time to read to us. The quality time reading provides is greatly needed in our fast-paced world. I remember how we all cried as we neared the end of Wilson Rawl’s classic children’s tale. I remember lying in a hammock (吊床) together giggling at a spiders artistic creations in Charlotte’s Web. I recall not only the stories but also where we were when we read those stories: the precious moments of childhood, shared with my mother and brother.

When I think back to those moments with my mother, I am filled with memories of long summer afternoons when I sat next to her and the turning of those pages which is the greatest gift from those days. Those pages help a growing, learning young person build a sense of curiosity and a sense of humor. Perhaps most importantly, they introduce me to empathy and they open me to an appreciation of others’ experiences, and this appreciation is sure to impact how I view others and the world around me. I’ll always hold those memories dear.

I must have always known reading was very important because the first memories I have as a child deal with books. There was not one night that I don’t remember mom reading me a storybook by my bedside. I was extremely inspired by the elegant way the words sounded.

I always wanted to know what my mom was reading. Hearing mom say, "I can’t believe what’s printed in the newspaper this morning," made me want to grab it out of her hands and read it myself. I wanted to be like my mom and know all of the things she knew. So I carried around a book, and each night, just to be like her, I would pretend to be reading.

This is how everyone learned to read. We would start off with sentences, then paragraphs, and then stories. It seemed an unending journey, but even as a six-year-old girl I realized that knowing how to read could open many doors. When mom said," The C-A-N-D-Y is hidden on the top shelf," I knew where the candy was. My progress in reading raised my curiosity, and I wanted to know everything. I often found myself telling my mom to drive more slowly, so that I could read all of the road signs we passed.

Most of my reading through primary, middle and high school was factual reading. I read for knowledge, and to make A’s on my tests. Occasionally, I would read a novel that was assigned, but I didn’t enjoy this type of reading. I liked facts, things that are concrete. I thought anything abstract left too much room for argument.

Yet, now that I’m growing and the world I once knew as being so simple is becoming more complex, I find myself needing a way to escape. By opening a novel, I can leave behind my burdens and enter into a wonderful and mysterious world where I am now a new character. In these worlds I can become anyone. I don’t have to write down what happened or what technique the author was using when he or she wrote this. I just read to relax.

We’re taught to read because it’s necessary for much of human understanding. Reading is a vital part of my life. Reading satisfies my desire to keep learning. And I’ve found that the possibilities that lie within books are limitless.