Dream Big: Read an Entire Book This Month
Find it impossible to read to the end of a book (no matter how great it is)? This easy plan will get you there.
PLOPPING INTO A comfy chair with a good book feels like the ultimate luxury—something you get to do on vacations or a rare free Saturday, but never in the middle of a busy workweek. If reading is something you’d like to do more of, this plan will set you up to do just that. And we’ve got some surprising health benefits to share that might even motivate the not-so-bookish among us to start turning some pages. We think once you’ve established a solid reading habit by the end of this month, you won’t stop there. Who knows? You might just be hosting your neighborhood’s first post-pandemic book club!
Week 1: Read 15 Minutes Every Day
The science: Sure, reading helps you relax, exposes you to new perspectives, and gives you an escape. But did you know it might help you live longer, too? Yale University scientists followed more than 3,600 adults over the age of 50 for 12 years to learn whether reading—books in particular—led to better longevity. The results? People (no matter their wealth, health, education, or gender) who reported reading books for 30 minutes a day lived nearly two years longer than those who read magazines or newspapers.