Reading For Wellbeing
READING for pleasure even just for a few minutes a day can help boost your mind and wellbeing. A study carried out by Mindlab at the University of Sussex found that reading (tested against other forms of relaxation) was 68% better at reducing stress levels.
Professor Angus Fletcher, author of “Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions In The History Of Literature”, says, “Different readings alleviate various forms of stress.
“For example, reading Elena Ferrante can alleviate loneliness, while reading Virginia Woolf’s ‘Mrs Dalloway’ can ease the stress of anxiety.
“The important thing is that the reading is immersive and builds stress-coping techniques.”
Reading has long been known to help people relax. Gemma Jolly, Head of Health and Wellbeing at national charity the Reading Agency, says, “Reading can act as a positive form of distraction. It can help people break anxiety loops by giving them a focus.
“Libraries provide free access to reading for their local communities (including audiobooks and e-lending). They are key in supporting the health and wellbeing of their communities.”
The Reading Agency operates the “Reading Well” scheme which helps people manage and understand health and wellbeing using reading.
Five Reading Well booklists have been developed – three for adults covering mental health, dementia and long-term conditions and two for children and young people.
“If someone is affected by these conditions, the booklists can be a helpful starting point,” Gemma says.
Books are all chosen and endorsed by health experts, as well as people living with the conditions covered, their relatives and carers.
“This ensures the quality of the list,” Gemma adds. “People can be recommended a title by a health and social care professional, teacher or carer, or they self-refer to the scheme from the booklist.
“The books are made available on the open shelves, clearly signposted, for anyone to borrow from public libraries.”
The aim of the Reading Well scheme is for everyone to experience the proven power of reading.
“We’re not prescriptive about how many minutes of reading people should do; we want people to enjoy reading and any amount is positive.”
The charity also has a national promotion of uplifting titles known as “Mind-boosting books”, recommended by readers and reading groups.
The Healthy Minds Book Prescription, run by NHS Tayside in Perth and Kinross, is another scheme. NHS professionals and local library services have been working together to encourage people to use books as an alternative to, or alongside, medication and therapy services.
Similar schemes exist elsewhere, so check with your local health board.
To find out more, visit www.readingwell.org.uk and www.nhstayside.scot. nhs.uk/bookprescription. ■