READING NOVELS – A WASTE OF TIME ?

From time to time I think that reading novels is a luxury that I can ill afford as I have so much “work” to do. What does a novel give except the pleasure of a thrilling story – which is totally fictional?!!!

A research carried out at Emory University in the US showed that reading a novel can start off actual, measurable changes in the brain that could last for at least five days after reading. It causes increased connectivity in the brain. It results in neurological changes that stay on just as the benefits of exercise remain in our muscles.

To get this benefit it is not even necessary to read a book at one sitting or in just a couple of days. The students in the study read a part of novel every evening over 19 days, with an fMRI scan next morning. They also took brain scans for five days after they had completed the book.

It is nice to nice to know that there is such a pleasurable way to exercise our brain, getting long term benefits from it, besides the thrill of the story.