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Tag Archives: read

Here’s the latest on Alzheimer’s and dementia prevention:

30 Monday Mar 2020

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Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's prevention, brain health, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, dementia, dementia prevention, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, read, read the newspaper, reading, University of Texas

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Did you know you’ll improve your mental power simply by reading the newspaper? That’s because reading increases blood flow to the brain, and strengthens the connections between brain cells. Dr. Sandra Chapman is director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas. She says talking about what you read is even better. Because interpreting a story strengthens the frontal lobe of the brain, which is one of the first areas to decline with age.

And a new study in Psychological Science finds learning new, active skills, like quilting, a new language, or playing a musical instrument, or traveling in a foreign country are more effective at keeping your mind sharp. That’s compared to doing something like crosswords and other word and number puzzles. It’s because social, engaging activities like traveling and detail-work, like tiny stitches and new vocabulary words, promote active learning and continuous stimulation of our brain functions.

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Reading books will prolong your life!

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

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book reader, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, live longer, long life, longevity, read, read a book, read books, reading, Yale

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Here’s some good news for people who love to read. Reading books may add a couple more years to your life! That’s according to researchers at Yale University’s School of Public Health.

The researchers studied nearly 4‑thousand people over a span of 20 years. What the Yale team found was that older adults who were regular book readers lived an average of 2 years longer than their non-reading peers – or those who read only magazines and newspapers.

In the study, older adults who spent an average of 3-and-a-half hours reading books per week had a nearly 20% lower risk of dying over the next 12 years – compared to non-book-readers.

The Yale study also showed it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, male or female. The benefit of living longer was the same.

So what is it about book-lovers that boosts their longevity? Researchers say, because books are more in-depth, and the characters and plot are more involved, they engage the mind more than newspapers and magazines. That leads to cognitive benefits that positively affect longevity. The bottom line: Reading books prolongs your life!

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Another great reason to read!

25 Monday Feb 2019

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brain, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, keep your brain sharp, memory, mental powers, mysteries, mystery, read, reading, science fiction

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Did you know that our mental powers decline 32% more slowly if we just read a book for about an hour every day? That’s according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center. They found that reading anything – from literature, to mysteries, to science fiction, to fluffy beach reads – helps preserve our memory… Because it keeps our brain active.

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Good news book lovers!

08 Monday Jan 2018

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book reader, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, live longer, longevity, mental stimulation, novel, read, read a book, read books, reading, stories, story, Yale, Yale University

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People who read books live longer than people who don’t. It’s just that simple, and it’s the word from the Yale University School of Public Health.

They studied nearly 4,000 people for 12 years. And found that people who read for up to 30 minutes a day were 17 percent less likely to die than those who read zero books. And book readers lived an average of 2 years longer!

And people who read for more than 30 minutes a day were 23 percent less likely to die.

So what about people who read newspapers and magazines? Their life expectancy is slightly longer……But not on par with reading books.

So why would reading novels help us live longer? The researchers believe the mental stimulation that comes from reading books and getting engrossed in the stories and characters improves brain health. Plus, reading is a stress reliever. And those two things are known to improve longevity.

Their overall conclusion? People who read books live longer than people who don’t.

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Reading is good for your mind!

15 Thursday Jun 2017

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brain, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, literature, memory, mysteries, read, read a book, reading, romance novels, science fiction

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Did you know our mental powers decline 32% more slowly as we age if we read a book for about an hour every day? That’s according to researchers at Rush University Medical Center. They found that reading anything – from literature, to mysteries, to science fiction, to romance novels – helps preserve our memory… Because it keeps our brain active.

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Make some time for YOU!

10 Friday Feb 2017

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busy, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, distraction, down time, downtime, heart rate, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, lift your mood, mandatory, me time, mental, mental vacation, mood, read, read a book, reading, scrapbooking, video games, videogames

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No matter how busy our lives are, research shows we need to give ourselves some mandatory downtime. Even if it’s just half an hour reading a novel, doing some scrapbooking, or playing a video game – it can lower your heart rate while simultaneously lifting your mood. It’s like a mental vacation that distracts us from negative thoughts. So don’t feel guilty having some “me” time every day.

Are you having trouble getting to sleep?

13 Friday Jan 2017

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awake, can't sleep, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, fall asleep, insomnia, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, news, nightly news, read, reading, repeat, repetition, sleep, sleeping, TV, TV Show

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Maybe you’re emotionally wound up from watching the nightly news – or a gripping TV show. Try this: Read the most boring thing you can find. Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Christopher Winter calls it an anti-page-turner. Remember how you used to have to fight to keep your eyes open during reading assignments in school? That same impulse can help you fall asleep now, because reading helps the brain relax. It’s down to the repetition – page after page, line after line – which distracts you from thoughts that can keep you awake.

Using a computer all day can cause eyestrain.

03 Monday Oct 2016

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center, Computer, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, Cornell University, desk, Dr. Alan Hedge, eyes, eyestrain, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, job, read, reading, relax, small print, work, working

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And it’s not just the light from the computer and the small print. Part of the problem is that we read from left to right, and almost everything we read on a computer is left-aligned… Which means, our eyes keep shifting to the left. So, ergonomic expert Dr. Alan Hedge at Cornell University recommends scooting your desk chair slightly left-of-center. That way, your eyes stay centered and relaxed, so you’ll get less eyestrain.

Relax with a good book.

07 Monday Dec 2015

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book, books, brain, calm, calm down, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, neuron, novel, read, reading, relax, sense of calm

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Curl up with your favorite type of novel – whether it’s a romance, a mystery, or a sci-fi adventure. A new study by Emory University found that reading creates changes in our brain’s neurons that trigger a sense of calm. Because when our mind is transported into the world of the book’s main character, we instantly leave our own worries behind.

Want to exercise your brain?

02 Friday May 2014

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abstract thinking, analyze, brain, Connie Sellecca, conniesellecca, exercise your brain, intelligence for your life, intelligenceforyourlife, iPad, kindle, novel, pay attention, read, reading, think, thinking, win arguments

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…pick up a book, iPad or Kindle. Reading a novel and paying attention to the descriptive parts makes us better at rational and abstract thinking. Rational thinking is the kind that helps us win arguments, and abstract thinking is the type that helps us analyze situations and come up with solutions.

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