Reading Good for Health

LONDON - Medical Experts Confirm Reading has Health Benefits

Top medical experts, Professor Louis Appleby and Baroness Susan
Greenfield, are backing a campaign about the health benefits of reading.

A nationwide survey out today that was commissioned by the National Year
of Reading(1) to explore the importance of reading in everyday life confirmed
that reading can have real benefits for your health, as well as for your
social circumstances, with 86% of respondents confident that reading improves
their mood.

Celebrities including Richard & Judy, Lorraine Kelly, Terry Wogan, Roger
Moore, John Humphrys, Sophie Dahl and Kenny Logan have all shown their
support and shared their personal `feel good’ reads. Take a look on
www.readingforlife.org.uk for their varied and inspirational reading
choices.

Professor Louis Appleby CBE, National Director for Mental Health in
England confirmed that reading can offer therapeutic benefits:

‘When we hear that reading is ‘good for us’ we may assume that this
is because it helps our education. But reading anything for pleasure
can also raise your spirits, offer an escape from everyday stresses, help
you empathise with other people AND keep the brain ticking over. Reaching for
a favourite magazine or book could well be good for your health.’

Top neurologist Baroness Susan Greenfield added her support:

“Reading novels and magazines can offer a brief respite from the stresses
and strains of everyday life. Traditionally reading was associated with
learning, and in this way it is good for personal development, but reading a
magazine or even cook book can be very comforting. Our brains are constantly
bombarded with information, more so now than ever before, and reading is a
good way to wind down.”

For nearly 2/3 respondents their primary reason for reading was to forget
about their troubles, not unsurprising in these testing times. A whopping 82%
read to wind down, with over 1/3 finding it hard to sleep if they haven’t
read before bedtime.

The findings definitely back up Professor Appleby’s assertion with 63%
feeling relaxed when reading a favourite read, closely followed by 50%
enjoying the `escapism from everyday life’ offered by a favourite book or
magazine. Interestingly only 29% read to become better informed showing that
reading is popular predominantly for enjoyment and relaxation rather than
learning.

Ex-Scotland rugby international and Strictly Come Dancing star Kenny
Logan was keen to lend his support to the campaign:

“I left school at 16 not being able to read or write. It wasn’t until I
was 30 that I decided to do something about it. I went through a programme
for dyslexia and after several months of hard work, I managed to transform my
reading skills and learning ability. Being able to read has made such a
massive difference to my life. Reading definitely makes me relax and feel
good. My favourite things to read are the sports pages and reading a story to
my kids at night - and emails of course!”

Reading is most commonly associated with books but only just over half of
respondents named books as their favourite read. With over a third of those
surveyed now preferring magazines and newspapers, one in ten (9%) happiest
reading online and 4% liking e-books the way we read is clearly changing
dramatically - but the benefits are as broad as ever.

Honor Wilson-Fletcher, Director for the National Year of Reading, gave
her support to this trend:

“Research has found that people who can read get ahead in life(2) but
there is no rule book about what you should read. Reading is important in all
its forms - it opens doors and makes life easier, so at the end of the day it
doesn’t matter what you read. What’s more, it really can make you feel good!”

So why does reading improve our mood? Aside from offering an escape from
the daily grind 83% of people laugh out loud when reading and laughter was
certainly a popular prerequisite for most celebrities when choosing their
favourite read. Sophie Dahl, Kaye Adams and Terry Wogan all mentioned
enjoying a good laugh when reading their `feel good read’.

Murder Mystery (30%) topped the poll as a favourite `feel good read’,
closely followed by romance (24%). Poetry was cited as the least favourite
and perhaps surprisingly social networking sites were the second least
popular polling just 9%. Newspapers topped the poll of most frustrating reads
with 18% of those surveyed saying the news was depressing.

As well as the therapeutic benefits, nearly 2/3 respondents (60%) claimed
reading had influenced them to change something in their lives. After
recommending the article to a friend, re-evaluating `love life’ was the most
likely outcome with one in five respondents claiming to have taken action
after reading an influential article or book.

`Read to Feel Good’ is the last campaign of the 2008 National Year of
Reading, during which 2.3 million people joined libraries in England. The
campaign to engage the nation with reading, in all its forms, will continue
under the banner Reading for Life - www.readingforlife.org.uk.

Notes to Editors:

(1) Survey conducted 15th March 2009 by One Poll. 4,323 respondents

(2) Literacy changes lives: the role of literacy in offending behaviour.
Published by the National Literacy Trust, September 2008.

Celebrity `Feel Good Reads’, also featured on
www.readingforlife.org.uk

Richard Madeley - `Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ by Susannah Clarke

“I love returning to books, and digging out nuggets I’ve overlooked first
time around. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, by Susannah Clarke, is a perfect
example. It’s about the return of magic, real magic, to England during the
Napoleonic Wars, and it’s worth re-reading for her wonderful foot notes
alone. It’s always by the bed.”

Judy Finneghan - `Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte

“I re-read Jane Eyre every year and each time, I’m even more impressed by
the writing. I recently gave it to my twenty-one year old daughter and she
absolutely loves it too.”

Richard & Judy are renowned TV presenters.

Lorraine Kelly - `South’ by Sir Ernest Shackleton

If I am feeling in need of inspiration I dip into Sir Ernest Shackleton’s
“South”, which is by my bedside and recounts his incredibly brave expeditions
to Antarctica. The way he managed to keep up his men’s spirits after their
ship Endurance was trapped, crushed and smashed by the ice is extraordinary -
as is the way he cheated death and brought them all home safe.

Lorraine Kelly, presenter on LK Today.

Sophie Dahl - `Pursuit of Love’ by Nancy Mitford

“This book makes me laugh, cry and sigh”.

Sophie is the author of Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights: The Art of
Eating a Little of What You Fancy (HarperCollins, 30th April 2009)

Terry Wogan - PG Wodehouse

“I’m never without PG Wodehouse by my bedside table. I read and reread
him, even when I’m reading something else. His brilliant plotting, his wit,
his wonderful use of the language lift my spirits, and always bring a smile.
Along with Myles na Gcopaleen (Flann O’Brien) Wodehouse is the author who can
still make me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I turn to him”

Terry Wogan is a TV and radio presenter. He hosts the BBC Radio 2
Breakfast Show and regularly appears on TV.

Alan Titchmarsh - diaries especially James Lees-Milne

“I find that reading diaries is the perfect antidote to a busy day. I can
take them in bite-sized chunks, and if they are by James Lees-Milne they
extend my knowledge of architecture, make me gasp at their candour, fill me
in on the whims of the aristocracy and irritate me profoundly in a sort of
enriching way! The perfect nightcap.”

Alan Titchmarsh is a gardener, broadcaster and journalist. Among other
things he currently hosts The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV as well as
regularly contributing to Gardeners World.

For quotes from Roger Moore, John Humphrys, Kaye Adams, John Boyne, Fiona
Fforde and children’s authors; Darren Shah, Lauren Child, Andy Stanton,
Michael Morpurgo, Dame Jacqueline Wilson take a look on
www.readingforlife.org.uk.

Source: National Year of Reading

For further information please contact: Emily Taylor/Catherine Stokes, +44(0)20-7820-6276/+31-45511-3584, Emily.Taylor at yearofreading.org.uk / Catherine.Stokes at yearofreading.org.uk