London, Aug. 7 : A new study says, along with increasing your knowledge, reading is also linked to your life span. Using a data of 3,635 people over 50, the researchers found that people who read almost three and a half hour per day were 17 per cent less likely to die over 12 years of follow-up and those who read more than that were 23 per cent less likely to die, reports the Independent.
Book readers live an average of almost two years longer than those who do not read at all. Researcher Becca R. Levy from Yale University was quoted, saying, "People who report as little as a half-hour a day of book reading had a significant survival advantage over those who did not read." Though the reason for why people who read more appear to live longer was not explained in the abstract version of the report, multiple studies show that literacy levels can affect several aspects of a person's life, from economic well-being to family circumstances and mental health.
A recent study found that children who had access to books were able to expect a higher adult income than those who grew up with few or none at all.
"The returns to education for individuals in such households (with less than a shelf of books) were much lower than for the luckier ones who had more direct access to books," study author Guglielmo Wiber said.
"In this sense we claim that books - like diamonds - are forever," he added..
Source: ANI
