Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
Review links reading for pleasure with brain and mental health benefits
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and The Queen’s Reading Room reviewed evidence on reading for pleasure and brain health across different ages.
Studies link the habit with better mental health, stronger thinking skills and a lower risk of dementia.
Among more than 10,000 young people, those who started reading for enjoyment earlier tended to do better on tests of attention, memory and planning.
Adults also report benefits such as less stress and greater relaxation, and one study found that five minutes of fiction reading reduced stress by up to 20%.
Brain scans have found differences in areas linked to language and learning among readers, but most studies cannot show that reading caused them.
A small study found brain changes after reading-related training for children with dyslexia, but that training was not recreational reading.
Researchers are still investigating cause and effect, so the evidence does not yet show that reading itself produces all the reported benefits.
A scientific review links reading for pleasure with better mental health, stronger cognitive abilities and a lower risk of dementia.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and The Queen’s Reading Room examined evidence from childhood through old age.
Studies associate recreational reading with better attention, memory and executive function in children, as well as lower stress and greater relaxation in adults.
Brain imaging studies have found structural differences associated with reading, but most cannot show whether reading causes them.
The review says further research is needed to establish the size and persistence of some reported benefits.
- Who
- Researchers from the University of Cambridge and The Queen’s Reading Room reviewed the evidence.
- What
- The review links reading for pleasure with mental health and cognitive benefits, and a lower risk of dementia.
- When
- The review’s publication date is not stated. A neuroscience study commissioned by The Queen’s Reading Room was conducted in 2024.
- Where
- The research was published in Psychological Medicine.
- Why
- Researchers examined evidence on the possible benefits of reading for pleasure and its links to brain health.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A neuroscience study commissioned by The Queen’s Reading Room reported that five minutes of fiction reading could reduce stress by up to 20%.
A scientific review linking reading for pleasure with brain and mental health benefits was published in Psychological Medicine.
- Review journal
- Psychological Medicine
- Research institutions
- University of Cambridge and The Queen’s Reading Room
- Young people studied
- More than 10,000
- Adult survey finding
- 38% identified reading as their preferred way to unwind
- Fiction reading study
- Five minutes was linked to a stress reduction of up to 20%