People Who Read Books Live Longer Than Those Who Don't, New Study Finds

According to a study conducted by researchers from Yale University, people who read books live an average of almost two years longer than those who don't read irrespective of their gender, health, education or wealth. For the purpose of the study, the researchers questioned 3,635 people over 50 years of age about their reading habits. The participants were divided into three groups. The first group included people those who didn't read books, the second comprised of those who read up to 30 minutes a day, and last group included people who read for more than three and a half hours every week.

The study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, found that people who read for more than three and a half hours every week were 23 percent less likely to die over 12 years of follow-up, while those who read for up to three and a half hours a week were 17 percent less likely to die, reported The Independent.

The researchers claimed that reading newspapers, magazines and periodicals was also linked to a longer lifespan, but not as much as novels. Even after taking into account various factors such as age, sex, race, education, health and wealth, the researchers found that book readers lived a longer life as compared to non-book readers. The study found that highly educated women with high incomes were the most avid readers.

The study's author, Professor Becca Levy, of Yale University, said, "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," reported Daily Mail.

She added that the survival advantage remained after adjusting for wealth, education, cognitive ability and many other variables. It is to be noted that the study did not reveal anything about the reason why people who read more appear to live longer.