Start living your best life!

Get Dr La Puma's Healthy Bites & Weekly Wows in your inbox to help you feel your best inside and out. Insights, healthy recipes and recommended household, culinary, literary, botanical and natural products to make your life easier, healthier and more fun.


Get Your 2 Free Downloadable Mini-Books When You Sign Up!

Green Rx & Real Age Excerpt

TOOLS & RESOURCES

Free Healthy Recipes

Chef MD

Quizzes

REFUEL

Healthy Bytes

Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Filter by Custom Post Type

The Health Benefits of Reading

By DrLaPuma 3 years agoNo Comments
Home  /  Wellness and Mental Health  /  The Health Benefits of Reading
reading

We’re all familiar with the cozy feeling of being curled up with a good book, be it a thrilling novel or a vicarious adventure through ancient history told with just enough spice to make you forget you’re reading about true events. What you may not know is that reading is more than an escape—it’s also good for your health and can provide emotional healing!

Research shows that reading can:

• reduce stress and symptoms of depression
• aid in getting a good night’s sleep
• enhance neural connections (builds vocabulary, expands worldviews, etc)
• help prevent cognitive decline and possibly lengthen lifespan

Reading can even be a form of therapy known as bibliotherapy, which can help facilitate transitions in a person’s life and promote well-being. In clinical settings, mental health practitioners have used bibliotherapy to bring about insight for people struggling with emotional-behavioral problems. For people going through significant life changes, bibliotherapy can promote emotional healing.

You can reap the benefits of reading for health simply by choosing a book that truly interests you. It does not have to be a particular genre, length, or meet any other requirements. Be aware that print and digital forms of reading have different benefits and challenges, so choose a form that works best for your situation.

For our health and eco-conscious readers who want to realize the benefits of reading, we suggest these titles on regenerative food systems for your reading pleasure:

Nourished Planet: Sustainability in the Global Food System by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition

Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It by Anna Lappe

Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems by Philip Ackerman-Leist

Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler

Happy (and healthy) reading!

For weekly EcoMedicine advice and my exclusive, free ebook on how to be less stressed and happier using nature, subscribe to my email list.

Category:
  Wellness and Mental Health

Get Dr La Puma’s Healthy Bites free newsletter designed to help make your life easier, healthier and more fun.

Simply add your email below and we'll send you a confirmation.