What book are you reading right now?

For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.

I just finished the classic John Steinbeck novel, The Grapes of Wrath, that so effectively transports you back to the cruel world of the decade prior to World War II that combined the Great Depression and the Dust bowl in Middle America and produced a massive migration of homesteaders west to California. The story is about hopes and dreams and a better life, but the reality of death, illness, discrimination, and despair. It is also a political story of the disenfranchised burdened with the economic fallout of unbridled capitalism. As the quote above relays, though, Steinbeck also believed that we can transcend our work and break forward into new ground, and a better place.

You may be wondering, “Why are you talking about reading a classic piece of literature outside of some literature class at college? Isn’t this a health blog?”

For years I did not read outside of an occasional science fiction novel and the necessary reading for my job. I felt like that was enough and time was short. Unfortunately, I did not know the following which has been proven over and over again in well designed studies:

• Reading reduces stress and anxiety. The general idea is that activity that focuses your brain on a single task, especially a creative task, reduces stress levels by up to 68%.
• Reading battles mental decline and dementia. Numerous study have shown that constistently reading decreases the odds of developing dementia.
• Reading is therapeutic for mental health. 20% of adults have dealt with mental illness, and less than half received treatment. Reading can be used as a type of therapy, and in conjunction with other tools, can help reduce symptoms.
• Reading is known to promote sleep. Lack of sleep is tied to an endless list of diseases and breakdowns in multiple layers of function in the body.
• Reading enhances intelligence, brain power, and empathy. Basically reading is to the brain what exercise and weight lifting is to muscle.

When addressing the concept of wholeness in health, I cannot overlook the most complex and vital organ of the human body: the brain. So health is not just a matter of diet and exercise, but of all of your activities.

When I came to the realization that I was not working on the health of my brain, I tried to figure out a way to integrate reading into my life. My wife came up with the idea of trying audio books. I had 10 minutes of commute to work and then 15 minutes coming home. What would happen if I used that time to listen to a book, and then work my way through the list of great books that I wish I had read? I read 4-5 books in a year previously. The next year I read 42 books. The following year I read 45 books. Don’t you actually have to use your eyes to read a book to get the benefit? Nope. Listening is just as healthy for the brain according to many studies, and may be more helpful to the creative centers in our brains.

Now I use an app for my phone called Goodreads, and track what I’ve read, what I want to read, and what I am currently reading. I also found out that my local library lends audio books and an app can be used to read them, called Libby. This is brilliant! I borrowed that entire first year of audio books from my awesome library.

Maybe you can open up some time to read, with your eyes or ears, and expand your mind and exercise it in a new and exciting way!