Reading improves mood among depressed: study

LONDON: Many a bookworm will tell you that curling up with a paperback is a salve for the mind.

And it seems scientists agree – with research suggesting reading can ease depression.

While it is not a cure, experts believe it is effective and could reduce the reliance on antidepressants in some cases.

Doctors in England dished out a record 64.7 million antidepressant prescriptions in 2016 for patients suffering from depression, anxiety and panic attacks. The annual total has more than doubled in the past decade, fuelling fears that doctors are prescribing the pills too freely to patients with depression who might get better with alternative treatments, such as talking therapies.

Two recent studies have found patients prescribed reading for mild to moderate depression – a treatment known as bibliotherapy – saw improvements in mood and psychological well-being.

In September 2017, researchers at the University of Turin in Italy published an analysis of 10 studies of bibliotherapy. Their findings, published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, showed that participants in at least six studies saw significant improvements in their depression scores for up to three years after taking part in a course of reading therapy.

“Bibliotherapy appears to be effective in the reduction of depressive symptoms in the long term, and could be an affordable treatment that reduces the need for medications,” the researchers concluded.

Another study, by a team at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, published in the journal PLOS One last year, looked at whether nondrug therapies such as reading could combat depression in the elderly.

Researchers found 18 studies, dating back decades, suggesting reading could boost the mood of pensioners. – Daily Mail