Does your New Year bring with it a wealth of
new resolutions? Dashed hopes for achieving maximum productivity,
Olympic-worthy fitness levels or a sense of inner peace can leave us feeling
overwhelmed and deflated.
At the Library we have been researching the
relationship between wellbeing and reading. Achieving a calm mind may not be so
unrealistic. A recent report funded by the Peter Sowerby Foundation has
uncovered a wealth of benefits for those who regularly read. These include, a
‘reduction of depression and dementia symptoms’, increased levels of empathy and
‘improved social capital’. (The Reading Agency)
Evidence for this invaluable link between good
mental health and reading is also available elsewhere. Josie Billington argues
that those who frequently read ‘report a greater ability to cope with difficult
situations’ due to feelings of recognition and an understanding of different
scenarios. (J. Billington, World Economic Forum)
Billington also discusses the benefits of
reading over other “down-time” activities such as looking at your phone or
television. She notes that ‘reading is associated with a particular kind of
mentally and emotionally “engaged” relaxation’, and that the ‘concentration’
and ‘absorption’ involved in reading helps to reduce anxious thoughts. (J.
Billington, World Economic Forum)
As we move through 2019, take the time to read
for pleasure and see if you can notice a positive effect on your wellbeing. Here
are handful of both uplifting and informative fiction and non-fiction
recommendations:
Fiction
What’s a Girl Gotta Do?, Holly Bourne
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail
Honeyman
Finding Audrey, Sophie Kinsella
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of
Being Alone, Olivia Laing
What Milo Saw, Virginia Macgregor
Dumplin’, Julie Murphy
Wonder, R.J. Palacio
My Name is Leon, Kit de Waal
Non-Fiction
Mind Your Head, Juno Dawson
The Teenage Guide to Stress, Nicola Morgan
Stress Proof Your Life: 52 brilliant ideas for
taking control, Elisabeth Wilson
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/05/books-cure-loneliness-closing-libraries-reading?CMP=share_btn_tw
(2018)
https://readingagency.org.uk/news/media/reading-for-pleasure-builds-empathy-and-improves-wellbeing-research-from-the-reading-agency-finds.html
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/02/can-reading-improve-your-wellbeing/
(2015)
https://greatschoollibraries.edublogs.org/2018/11/02/mental-wellbeing-and-school-libraries/
(2018)
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Miss Gibbs
