Queen Camilla - 5 minutes of reading as important as diet and exercise

[NanaCat]

I know how people like to hate on Camilla Parker-Bowles, but she has been doing yeoman's work promoting reading, first with a book club she started during the pandemic, then with a weekly podcast. Her reading charity also commissioned research into the effects of reading. It's not a surprise that results show what we readers have always suspected: Reading is as important to our health as diet and exercise, and has especial benefits in helping to reduce stress.

“Just five minutes of reading a work of fiction immediately reduced stress in our participants by nearly 20%.

“But not only that, bio-signals we were able to take show that a short period of reading can actually help us better manage our stress, significantly increasing our concentration and improving our ability to focus on the next task.

“Those five minutes really can make the rest of our day better.

“We found that high frequency readers are significantly less likely to experience feelings of loneliness important not just for the health of society, but because leading research tells us that loneliness can increase the likelihood of different dementias.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/queen-camilla-reading-room-health-benefits-joanna-lumley-b2519322.html

Split Second Research did the study. I'm trying to find their paper for methodology, but, for now, an Instagram about the Queen's event where she announced the results revealed this much about how they carried out the research:

The neuroscientific research used brain scans, skin conductance tests and a nationally representative study developed by neuroscientists, to examine the connection between reading and wellbeing.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4_XwT4MsMF/?utm_source=ig_embed