Reading provides mental health benefits such as giving us a break from screens and feeling less isolated through connecting with characters.

Getting lost in a book is a great and healthy way to unwind after a long day. Fiction can create a world to escape into and non-fiction can help further development, learn from another person’s life or give a laugh from real experiences.

Reading a book is beneficial for our physical well-beings as well. When we read about others with shared or similar experiences, it can help us to feel less isolated and alone. Reading can also help us to learn about and empathize with those whose life experiences may be very different than our own, building empathy and greater social awareness. Flipping through a book may also help readers reduce overall stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, as well as fight depressive symptoms.

While reading is a seemingly solitary hobby, it can elevate our social health. Connecting with characters and humans through reading can transcend outside of the actual reading experience into live or virtual opportunities for human connections via book clubs, forums or festivals.

Reading also allows a now rare opportunity to completely disconnect from a screen or device, which can benefit our brains. Reading provides a different experience for our brains than receiving images through a TV show or movie – forcing readers to instead invent them. So, the next thing you’re looking for a way to end the day, pick up the book from your nightstand and get lost in a good story.