Read a Book: Save Yourself

Are you sick of all of the talk about AI? …worried that robots and machines will take over? …tired of reading everything on your laptop, tablet or phone?

Are you always arguing with your children over how much screen time is acceptable?

I have a solution for all of that tech and computer fatigue.

Read a book… a real book, with paper pages.

Books ask the mind to do the work instead of doing it for you. A page does not autoplay the next scene, recommend the next video, or ping you with a notification. You have to supply the voices, the scenery, the pacing, the pictures.

With all of the debates about AI, screen time, movies, TV, computer use, and children addicted to screens – read a book. Read to your kids.

Treat yourself to some quiet and escapism through a good book. Pick up a really old book, take in the old book feel and smell, a nostalgic reminder that you are about to embark on a story cherished by many readers before you.

Learning to read is not just enjoyable, but it means the reader can teach himself anything just by cracking open a book.

The connections made through reading are timeless and ageless, as are discussions about favorite books with friends, young and old.

Reading is one of the simplest, lowest-cost habits with some of the broadest evidence-based payoffs. It is not just entertainment or a way to pass time. Regular reading, especially books, and often fiction, is linked to stronger cognition, better mental health, greater empathy, improved sleep, and even longer life.

Reading engages language, attention, memory, and imagination networks at the same time. This builds cognitive reserve: the brain’s ability to keep functioning well despite age-related changes or even early Alzheimer’s pathology.

Long-term studies show regular readers experience slower cognitive decline and lower risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s (around 33% lower in some cohorts), a Cambridge University study found. Children who start reading for pleasure early tend to develop larger brain volumes in regions tied to language, emotional regulation, and executive control, plus better attention, memory, and academic outcomes later. Even in older adults, short-term experiments have produced measurable gains in working and long-term memory.

A well-known Yale study of more than 3,600 adults over age 50 followed for 12 years found that book readers lived an average of 23 months longer than non-readers, even after adjusting for education, income, health, and cognition. Book reading outperformed newspapers or magazines, and the advantage was partly explained by better cognitive scores. Readers had about a 20% lower mortality risk.

Just a few minutes of reading can drop stress levels substantially. Another study found a 68% reduction after six minutes, outperforming walking, a cup of tea, or music. More recent work notes 20% stress reduction from five to twenty minutes of fiction, plus better concentration. Reading is often reported as a favorite way to unwind.

It doesn’t matter what or how we read, reading for enjoyment can bring huge benefits, and reading with others, whether it’s as part of a book club or a parent reading with their children, can bring even greater rewards.

Shared reading multiplies the effect. Book clubs and family reading time reduce loneliness, build social skills, and create belonging. Children who are read to develop stronger bonds and better socio-emotional skills. Adults who read more as adolescents tend to stay more socially engaged decades later.

Get children off of their devices. Stop doom-scrolling on X or Instagram. Save yourself. Save your family. Reconnect over a book.