Read Yourself healthy

Lose yourself in a good book on holiday and research shows you’ll come home happier and brighter. It’s time for some sun-lounger therapy!

- Jane Murphy

Read any good books recently? Three-quarters of UK adults say they’ve read a book for pleasure in the past year, according to a YouGov survey. But there’s no doubt that reading as a pastime is under threat from a long list of 21st-century excuses. You just can’t find the time to read a book. You’re too stressed to focus on page after page of words. It’s so much easier – and tempting – to scroll through social media instead. But did you know that ditching books in favour of digital browsing could be damaging your brain power and reducing your creativity? Don’t panic, though – the long, lazy days on holiday provide the perfect opportunity to stop scrolling and rediscover the joys of reading and the health benefits it brings.

BOOST YOUR BRAIN

It’s probably no surprise to learn that reading can improve your brain power. But that doesn’t mean you have to pore over a science text book or critically assess War and Peace: the very act of reading, and so focusing on just one thing for a length of time, is enough to produce positive change. ‘A good book can rewire our brains and prompt an increase in the number of neural connections,’ says psychologist Dr Tony Lloyd. ‘This boost continues for some time after we stop reading – a phenomenon researchers liken to the muscle memory which comes into play when we develop physical skills.’