Want a workout for your brain? Read a novel.

Brain workoutAs (obsessive) readers, we all know how a novel can amuse us and transport us. But did you know novel reading also provides a workout for your brain?

There’s a short, interesting article in the LA Times about brain research showing how our mind reacts to novel reading.

College students were all provided with a novel and asked to read thirty pages a night. The next day they were tested to ensure they had read the assignment, then they had a brain scan. The results showed “heightened connectivity” in the left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with receptivity for language on the days after reading their novel.

According to researchers, these measurable physical changes in the brain can be detected up to five days after the reader closes the book.

How’s that for a brain workout? So readers, no guilty pleasures here! Not only is novel reading enjoyable, it’s excellent brain exercise, too!

Happy reading (workout) to all.

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