It’s safe to say that most of us have pretty busy schedules. However, we could probably all find time for reading at least 6 minutes a day. Perhaps at the end of the day, when you’ve completed all our work and can finally get cozy in bed, you can read for a few minutes before dozing off. Reading offers so many cognitive and physiological benefits.
Researchers from Mindlab International at the University of Sussex analyzed cortisol levels and heart rates of participants before observing how they responded to different tasks. Reading books lowered their stress levels more than all the other activities participants engaged in.
This included listening to music (61 percent), having a cup of tea or coffee (54 percent), and taking a walk (42 percent). They also found that playing video games lowered stress levels by 21 percent, but increased heart rate.
“Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation,” Dr. David Lewis, researcher, and cognitive neuropsychologist said. “It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book, you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.”
“This is more than merely a distraction,” he added, “but an active engaging of the imagination as the words on the printed page stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness.”
See Science Explains: Reading 6 Minutes A Day Helps Reduce Stress And Increase Happiness »
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Reading for just six minutes per day may help reduce your stress levels and help you find happiness, according to research. Here is why.