HEALTH & WELLNESS
Reading Is More than Fun
– It’s Vital for Health and Long Life!
by Alyson Breisch
Southern Conference Minister
for Health and Wellness
A national research Health and Retirement Study of 3635 participants examined their reading patterns at baseline and over a span of 12 years. Book reading contributed to a survival advantage that was significantly greater than that observed for non-book reading (newspapers or magazines). Book readers experienced a 20% reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow up compared to non-book readers. In an article titled A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity, authors Avni Bavishi, Martin D. Slade, and Becca R Levy note that these findings “suggest that the benefits of reading books include a longer life in which to read them.”
Another growing area of research on reading, publicized in a new review in Psychological Medicine, expands our understanding of why those who read can also gain cognitive benefits. Reading, in all socioeconomic backgrounds, is associated with structural and functional differences in brain regions supporting executive control, emotional regulation, and social cognition. In children and teens, reading is linked to improved attention, executive function, and mental health. In adults, it helps lower stress and loneliness and increase empathy and cognitive function. Later in life, it helps guard against cognitive decline and dementia. Reading for pleasure, the authors said, is “an accessible and low-cost protective factor across the lifespan” that can serve as a scalable intervention. Dr. Sahakian, one of the authors, notes that “reading, for the brain, is akin to exercise for the body”. A critical neural circuit involved in learning and memory relies on the hippocampus which is one of the first brain regions to suffer damage from Alzheimer’s disease. Keeping the brain actively engaged can help preserve the circuit’s function for longer.
Cognitive activities like crossword puzzles eventually hit a plateau because they become formula-like. Reading, though, continuously challenges cognition and increases brain plasticity because it involves ongoing learning. Another study reported in the journal Psychology found that older adults who read novels for 8 weeks showed greater improvements in memory performance than a control group working on puzzles. The social brain is also actively trained by reading. Reading can significantly buffer feelings of loneliness. Joining a book club amplifies that protective effect. In an increasingly online world filled with constant distractions, reading can serve as a powerful exercise for sustained focus. Visit your local library, sign out a good novel, immerse yourself in the story. Pick authors whose stories are of interest to you and read their titles in published sequence. Ask friends for recommendations. Re-read a book that inspired you at an earlier age. Open a book - read for your health and long life!
LOVE HEALS: Reflections on My Breast Cancer Journey
by Alyson Breisch
Southern Conference Minister
for Health and Wellness
In 2005 I was the Parish Nurse at United Church of Chapel Hill. In February that year I was teaching a week-long retreat course for parish nurses. I was also awaiting a phone call from my physician about the results of the breast biopsy I had the week before. When I received the call from my doctor confirming my diagnosis, the nurses at the retreat course formed a circle of prayer around me. One of the participants gave me her breast cancer journey bracelet as a visible sign of my circle of friends praying for me. Inside the heart charm were the words “Trust Your Journey” and on the back of the heart, “Love Heals.” During the blessing of my hands in a ceremony that evening, the pastor quoted Teresa of Avila who said, "All shall be well, all manner of thing shall be well.” I was filled with God’s assurance.
After my surgery, a chaplain from our church phoned to tell me a group of people at church were asking to form a support group for me during my upcoming radiation therapy. My initial reply was, “Oh, I don’t think that I will need that much care.” There was a brief silence at the other end of the phone and then he repeated his statement, “Aly, there is a group of people at church that want to form a support group for you.” This time my reply was, “Oh, I really don’t think Chip and I will need meals or anything.” After his next silent pause, he said, “Aly, there is a group of people at church who love you and want to form a support group for you.” And this time I heard the message in his words and replied, “Oh, I get it. This is about me letting others care for me.” A nurse in the oncology clinic told me that women who walked every day during radiation treatments seemed to experience less fatigue from the treatments. This became how my support group cared for me. For five treatments each week, for six weeks, my husband alternated with a member of my support team who arrived at 7:30 am, drove me to Duke and after the treatment we walked together – in Sarah Duke gardens, along a labyrinth on the grounds of the elementary school near my home, or in my neighborhood. What a precious gift I received. Our conversations, laughter, and celebration of God’s creation each new morning gave me much more than physical endurance during my treatments. There was now a new way for me to express reciprocal caring: “Today you may care for me, and then tomorrow, if you need, I will care for you.” As I accepted my vulnerability, acknowledged this generous gift of others, and gave these loving friends the opportunity to care for me, my healing began.
In 2006 when I was installed as a Commissioned Minister for Congregational Health by the Eastern North Carolina Association of the Southern Conference, God called me into a life inextricably linked to others. In the 21 years since my diagnosis, surgery and treatment, I remain motivated to be an advocate, encourager, and a care team member for other women facing this diagnosis. Health and Wellness ministries teams in local churches can be advocates promoting early screening, sharing information and resources, and offering support to those diagnosed with breast cancer. Wendell Berry suggests: “Health is not just the sense of completeness in ourselves but also is the sense of belonging to others and to our place; it is an unconscious awareness of community, of having in common.” Our congregations become healing communities that not only invite us to care for others but also open us to receive care.