Read a Book! 

                                                                                                  By: Nardeen Saleep

You come home tired from a long day at school or work. You are ready to kick back, relax, and stay up doing something fun. You decide to put on a movie to get your mind off the day. Then, ten minutes in, you fall asleep.

Believe it or not, reading a book is sometimes better than watching a movie. According to a study directed at the University of Sussex, watching a movie may seem relaxing, but reading a book for just six minutes can reduce stress by up to 68% by distracting the mind from daily stressors.

The University of Minnesota reports that stress is said to contribute to 60% of human illness and disease. So by lowering stress, reading also lowers the risk of disease.

The brain cannot function at maximum capacity at all hours of everyday.  It needs to rest the cognitive abilities by disengaging, even if only for a little while. Research suggests that reading a book is among the best ways to do so. Reading puts the brain into a trance-like state similar to meditation. It also offers similar health benefits of deep relaxation such as lower stress levels, better sleep, and lower rates of mental illness.

A 2009 study conducted at the University of Sussex revealed that reading lowers stress by lowering heart rate and easing tension in the muscles and heart. “By losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world,” cognitive psycho-neurologist  Dr. David Lewis said.

Simply by opening a book, you allow your mind to leave behind reality and enter a whole new world. "Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation. This is more than merely a distraction 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," Dr. Lewis explained.

When you are picking a book for relaxation purposes, it is best to chose a genre you enjoy and stay away from upsetting topics. Research shows that reading fiction is the best way to free your mind from stress. This is because fiction fully captures the mind and engages the imagination. 

So next time you come home tired and stressed, consider picking up your favorite fiction novel instead of watching that movie for the fifth time. Even if you are not solely reading for the health benefits, it is always nice to travel to a better place within a good book. 

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