One of the items on the top of my list of Ways to Love Myself, is to make time to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book. Reading makes me feel happy and according to recent surveys there’s more to it than just feeling relaxed.
Writer Ceridwen Dovey says, “For all avid readers who have been self-medicating with great books their entire lives, it comes as no surprise that reading books can be good for your mental health and your relationships with others, but exactly why and how is now becoming clearer, thanks to new research on reading’s effects on the brain. Since the discovery, in the mid-nineties, of “mirror neurons”—neurons that fire in our brains both when we perform an action ourselves and when we see an action performed by someone else—the neuroscience of empathy has become clearer. A 2011 study published in the Annual Review of Psychology, based on analysis of brain scans of participants, showed that, when people read about an experience, they display stimulation within the same neurological regions as when they go through that experience themselves. We draw on the same brain networks when we’re reading stories and when we’re trying to guess at another person’s feelings.”
But I don’t need science to confirm that I feel better after taking time out to relax and read. The long-lingering feeling of euphoria after finishing a good book is proof in itself. Research also shows that reading fiction in particular is good for the soul. Getting away from the normal daily hum-drum and sometimes hectic lifestyles we live is good for us. Reading inspires, bringing new ideas. It awakens the child in us, letting us see things afresh. It can be educational, broadening our horisons and improves our general knowledge. Reading allows us to get in touch with our emotions and can even better our mood. Reading has been shown to put our brains into a pleasurable trance-like state, similar to meditation, and it brings the same health benefits of deep relaxation and inner calm.
So please don’t feel guilty next time you curl up with a good book - remember that reading is good for your mental health (did you know there is such a thing as Bibliotherapy? It is a very broad term for the ancient practice of encouraging reading for therapeutic effect) - and if you’re feeling good, everybody around you will benefit!
