Read fiction, it’s good for your brain!

In the age of digital technology and social networking, paper books are becoming increasingly neglected. Yet reading, especially fiction, could have beneficial effects on brain capacity.

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 are involved when we read. Fiction books are among the most widely read, but does reading fiction 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 over other types of books?

Through two meta-analyses, the authors first studied the 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 between 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲. Cognitive benefits were found to be significant in comparison with watching fiction or not reading, particularly 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲. The second meta-analysis examined this link over the 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦. Here again, frequent reading of fiction books was significantly 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 such as verbal ability, general cognition and empathy. Indeed, the theory is that our brains equate fictional characters 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, which would train our brains in terms of empathy and social cognition.

These data suggest that reading fiction would have a 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬. What's more, another study had previously shown that reading fiction would also improve social skills. 𝐒𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, finish that book you've been putting on hold, or start a new one!