The power of reading aloud

 Reading out loud is not just for children. For grownups, it can improve their mind and beat loneliness

When was the last time you read someone a story? If you have young children in your life, chances are you’ve done it recently. But did you know that rather than just keeping little ones happy, there are serious perks to making story time a life-long habit?

Scientists say there are mental and physical benefits to be gained from reading aloud — it could even help you live longer. All you need is an engaging paperback, a voice and a bit of time. Meghan Cox Gurdon in her book, The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud reveals some of the benefits of reading out loud:

Ditch the phone

Where screens and technology divide people even when they are in the same room, sitting with a book in physical proximity brings benefits. Additionally, when someone reads aloud and someone else listens, their brains synchronise so the storyteller and the storyhearer are experiencing the same brain activity and release of neuro-chemicals. This process, known as neural coupling, was shown by US scientists using fMRI scanners at Princeton and explains why reading with others can create a sense of unity and closeness. In an age where loneliness and anxiety are endemic, this discovery is more fascinating than ever.

Keeps people connected to each other

Loneliness causes stress, and long-term or chronic stress leads to more elevations of a key stress hormone, cortisol, which is linked to inflammation in the body. This leads to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint disease, depression, obesity and death. In 2010, a UK survey of elderly adults who joined a weekly reading group reported they had better concentration, became less agitated and were better at socialising.

Use it or lose it

Language is like a muscle — it wastes away if you aren’t using it. Reading aloud with other adults, especially older adults, helps to keep everyone’s brains in good condition. In Japan, which has many elderly people, clinicians are exploring how daily reading can sharpen cognitive skills that have been dulled by age and lack of use.

In 2017, a study carried out at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, found reading aloud improves recall by 15 per cent, so it is no surprise that there are positive results to be had for dementia patients, too. And research at Yale University found people who read books — and were read to — live an average of two years longer than nonreaders.

Getting started

Start small. Begin where you are and do it today. You don’t need to read aloud for an hour, or a year, or forever. Just begin. Pick up a book or a magazine or even a packet of breakfast cereal, and start reading to someone you love.

Have fun

Reading aloud isn’t supposed to be work. Just read what’s on the page and let the words cast their spell. Don’t worry if you feel shy about reading out loud, lots of people do. Stick with it. If your listeners want to get up and move around, let them. Some people focus better when their hands are busy. There’s no ‘correct’ way to read aloud, there’s just your way.

Source | Economic Times | 28th January 2019