Reap The Advantages Of Reading As You Age

It is only among children that the importance of promoting reading gets all the attention, benefits abound for the elderly who read, too. In fact, reading is associated with a number of positive outcomes for seniors, ranging from enhanced memory retention, stress reduction, sharper decision-making capabilities, to better sleep, and most importantly, he delayed onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Not to mention the fact that it’s enjoyable, too. No matter it’s poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction, according to research the health benefits for avid readers are plenty.

Here are some of the advantages you can reap if you regularly lose yourself in a good book:

Builds Memory– Memory skills get affected with age. What reading can do is it can keep the brain continually engaged, thus refreshing an older adult’s memory helping them to be as alert as they were before.

Enhances Cognitive Ability– It’s a known fact that the aging years poses a challenge to seniors especially in terms of the way the mind thinks, analyzes, or decides. There can be a decline in one’s cognitive ability over the years when this is not exercised. Reading is what offers the brain the adequate workout which enhances the cognitive ability, sharpening a senior’s mind as was in their youth.

Delays Onset of Alzheimer’s and Dementia- Reading challenges the brain that can help to build the neuronal connections, which can help make the Alzheimer’s process delay itself. The mental stimulation is extremely beneficial.

Other benefits:

1. Improves sleep
2. Reduces stress
3. Increases empathy
4. Sharpens focus
5. Broadens knowledge
6. Get free entertainment
7. Improves analytical thinking skills
8. Broadens your horizon

The aforementioned benefits rightly demonstrate why good senior reading habits help preserve mental faculties, enabling people to live independently longer.

If you haven’t cracked a book open in a while, it’s high time you did it. With age, people might tend to read less and watch TV instead. However, you may want to consider trading in the remote for a good book in view of the proven health benefits of reading. Reading can be one of the activities that can make your senior loved one pass time productively when they are constantly alone at home for the most part of the day, however, you would also want to ensure their safety and quality life. This is where our assisted living services come into play. At Senior Sanctuary of Anthem- an award-winning Anthem assisted living facility in Phoenix, AZ, we always have activities going on, but also have calm areas for our residents to curl up with a book. We hugely support the hobbies and activities of seniors when they take time to read or dedicate regular amounts of time for reading.