Better sleep, improved memory and 14 other ways books benefit your life

Emma Clarke
·Contributor
·6-min read
Reading enhances our lives in many ways. (Getty Images/Canva)
Reading enhances our lives in many ways. (Getty Images/Canva)

World Book Day is an annual celebration of books, literacy, storytelling and authors, designed to promote reading for pleasure. But the joys of reading should not be confined to one day only.

Beyond the fact that reading provides endless amounts of entertainment and is key to brain development, there are a vast number of ways that books – both fiction and non-fiction – enhance our lives.

Here, we take a look at the benefits of reading – and listening to audiobooks – for both children and adults.

Reading has been shown to improve mental health and reduce stress levels. (Getty Images)
Reading has been shown to improve mental health and reduce stress levels. (Getty Images)

Reading has many positive impacts on our mental health. Not only is it a pleasurable activity, research suggests it has a profound influence on those who suffer with depression.

Research by Dr David Lewis of the University of Sussex suggests that reading for as little as six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by 60%, by reducing your heart rate and relaxing the mind and muscles.

Whether you are reading a bedtime story to your children or you’re devouring a few chapters at the end of the day, reading can really improve sleep quality, as a 2021 study found.

Not only are you reducing screen time and avoiding a lot of stimulus before bed, it helps create a routine – which is critical to overall sleep health.

Many studies have looked at the link between reading and memory over the years.

Young children, before they can even read, learn stories through pictures, voices and characters, and are able to pre-empt the next line as they recall them from memory.

Research has also shown that reading activity can reduce long-term decline in cognitive function, and keep your mind sharp.

Vocabulary plays a big part in our reading comprehension and fluency, and the more we read, the more new words we get to know.

When we come across a word we are not familiar with, we are inclined to look up its meaning – and may even adopt it in our speech and writing moving forward. We can also learn its origins, which, in turn, can help us navigate other new words in the future – as well as foreign languages.

This may seem obvious, but reading vastly improves our knowledge – and, as the adage goes: knowledge is power.

Evidence from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also demonstrates that reading contributes more towards children’s educational success than socio-economic factors, helping break down barriers for those from lower-income households.

Senior male customer sitting on armchair reading book against bookshelf at bookstore
Reading has also been linked to long-term cognitive health. (Getty Images)

Reading also opens us up to different world views and experiences, thus enhancing our ability to empathise and connect with others.

Research has suggested that reading fiction, in particular, has an affective impression on us, triggering an emotional response to a story.

Others have suggested that non-fiction, such as a news article or feature, has the same effect, as we read about different world events and personal experiences, broadening our understanding of and connection to the real world.

A 2023 survey by the Publishers Association found that 33% of people turn to books as a form of escapism.

This was especially the case during the pandemic – a time when people couldn’t travel or leave their houses, even – with book sales increasing by 4% from 2021. In fact, 669 million physical books were sold in the UK in 2022, the highest overall level ever recorded.

From BookTok to book clubs – there is a social element to reading that also enhances our experience.

The same 2023 survey by the Publishers Association mentioned above also found that 34% of people passed their books on to friends and family once they were done, with the desire to discuss the story and share their interests with others.

The more we read, the more we question. We learn to analyse the facts presented to us and the credibility of the source – to question the choice of language and the overall message portrayed. We can then apply this critical thinking to real-life situations, whether it’s our relationships with others or in our work.

Beyond the expansion of vocabulary and understanding, reading also allows us to communicate better with others – which may sound odd when it’s largely a solitary activity.

For those studying languages, especially, reading helps us understand structures, grammar and colloquialisms. It also enables us to articulate our thoughts more clearly when speaking to others.

Research suggests a 52% increase in children’s screen time between the years 2020 and 2022. It is also estimated that the average screen time for children aged 5-15 has risen to 15 hours per week.

So, unless you are using a tablet, reading also significantly reduces screen time, providing an alternative means of entertainment and learning.

As discussed previously, reading before bed, in particular, can also improve sleep quality, whereas screens have the adverse effect.

Young girl laying in bed enjoying music, she is listening to music via wireless headphones
Audiobooks can also provide an immersive and inclusive experience. (Getty Images)

In 2024, two in five children and young people enjoyed listening to audio formats. Some 37.4% also said that audiobooks acted as a gateway to physical books and others indicated that audio formats helped remove the barriers around reading. Audiobooks are also critical for those with disabilities that make reading print difficult.

The narrator’s voice – whether they are speaking in their natural tone of putting on the voices of different characters – can boost our emotional connection to the narrative and enhance our overall experience.

Representation and linguistically diverse audiobook casting means that children and adults have more exposure to different types of voices. It also helps enhance our understanding of different cultures – especially when the text itself is about the narrator’s lived experience.

If you’re a multitasker or you put off reading because there aren’t enough hours in the day, listening to audiobooks may be the thing for you. You can just plug in and carry on with your day.

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