IT’S A PLEASURE

Reading for pleasure can bring far greater benefits. Those range from educational to health benefits, including brain health and staving off dementia. University of Cambridge researchers teamed with a charity established by Queen Elisabeth to encourage reading. The study found it doesn’t matter what we read as long it is for enjoyment. Authors say reading ought to be encouraged from a young age, but they say reading can bring benefits throughout our lives and into old age. The findings come at a time when reading among children is at is lowest level since records began, possibly because of electronic gaming and online distractions. Reading for pleasure, on the other hand, promotes fewer mental health problems and better quality of sleep.
HOW HARMFUL IS LONELINESS?
Social isolation and loneliness have a significant impact on disease-free life expectancy. That is the conclusion from a large study at Tulane University. The notion that social isolation and loneliness are harmful to our health is not new, but this study in the journal Nature Communications suggests just how harmful. Authors say loneliness and social isolation may cost people nearly six years of life free from mental disorders like depression and anxiety, with smaller but significant toll on physical health. While the terms are often used interchangeably, this study defined social isolation and loneliness as separate risks and may be treated as separate conditions by community resources and healthcare providers.