ISRAEL: "Read this for a longer life"

TEL AVIV (Haaretz - Israel News), July 21, 2008: By Ofri Ilani What can you do to live longer? Until recently, experts mainly recommended proper nutrition and exercise. But a new study conducted at Hadassah University Hospital, Mt. Scopus adds another activity: reading daily. "We found that people who read every day live longer," said geriatrician Dr. Jeremy Jacobs of Hadassah, the lead author of an article recently published in The Journals of Gerontology. The article described a long-term study being conducted by Prof. Yohanan Stesman at Hadassah. The researchers have been monitoring 1,000 elderly Jerusalem residents for the past 18 years. The study began in 1990 with 600 men and women aged 70, who were examined and interviewed every few years. Later on, more people joined the study, bringing the total to 1,000. The researchers examined the participants' general health and asked them about various habits, including reading. The participants were divided into two groups - those who read daily, and those who do not read daily or do not read at all. Eight years later, when the participants were 78, the researchers found that 83 percent of men in the first group were still alive, compared with only 61 percent in the second group. For an unknown reason, reading did not have a significant effect on women's life expectancy. Jacobs says people who read often have a higher level of education and a higher income, which contribute to their overall health. Nonetheless, the research statistically isolated these variables in order to focus on the impact of reading alone. Even when all other factors were neutralized, reading was found to increase life span. "After neutralizing the effects of other factors, anyone who read daily had a 2.3 percent lower chance of dying (during the period reviewed - O.I.) in comparison to those who didn't read." How can this be explained? "The more you use your brain, the more you improve the blood circulation there and the better you preserve it," said Jacobs. "Apparently there is something vital and active in reading. A person continues to exercise his brain and is active in the world. This may also affect self-esteem. People who read feel they are more vital." However, Jacobs notes that not every activity contributes to health. Watching television, for example, was not found to affect participants' life spans. "Someone who reads is doing something active, as opposed to watching television, which is passive, and therefore reading better protects the elderly from deterioration," he said. While conducting the study, Stesman and company also found that even at an advanced age, it is never too late to start exercising. "We showed that the physical activity improves survival rates even at an old age," he said. "Even if someone starts at age 85, this has a very positive affect on survival." © Copyright 2008 Haaretz.