In a world where screens monopolize our attention, a simple activity could offer valuable benefits to our mental health: reading fiction. Concentration, empathy, management of emotions… The specialists interviewed emphasize that immersing yourself in a novel stimulates the brain in a unique way.
Why our brains need extensive reading
Notifications, social networks, short videos: our attention is constantly requested. As a result, many people feel scattered, tired and mentally saturated.
Faced with this overabundance of information, in-depth reading appears to be a particularly interesting alternative. It involves focusing on long-form content, such as a novel, for an extended period of time. Unlike rapid scrolling through digital content, it requires sustained attention.
According to psychiatrist Lauren Grawert, this immersion allows the brain to make sense of the story, imagine scenes, anticipate events and create an emotional connection with the characters. Dr. Allen Masry also points out that this activity simultaneously mobilizes memory, imagination and emotions, in a different way from browsing social networks.
Valuable help to better manage life’s challenges
Reading fiction could act as a form of mental rehearsal. According to research cited by Lauren Grawert, vivid stories activate neural systems similar to those mobilized during real experiences.
Concretely, following a character faced with grief, conflict or a difficult decision would allow these situations to be explored in a risk-free environment. This exposure could make certain emotions or real-life experiences less destabilizing when they arise.
Novels thus provide a space to reflect on human relationships, complex choices and difficult emotions, without having to directly suffer the consequences.
Benefits for memory and concentration
Regular reading puts a lot of strain on working memory. To follow a plot, you have to remember details, understand the connections between characters and continually integrate new information.
Lauren Grawert cites a study showing that participants who read at least once a week had a significantly reduced risk of cognitive decline six, ten, and fourteen years after the study began. The researchers observed a correlation between the frequency of reading and the reduction in this risk, independently of the level of study.
Dr. Allen Masry also discusses a recent study on cognitive patience, that is to say the ability to maintain attention, delay gratification and avoid multitasking. The results indicated that frequent readers of long literary works scored higher on concentration and perseverance than occasional readers.
Reading novels also promotes empathy
One of the most remarkable effects of fiction has to do with understanding others.
Dr. Masry cites a study in which participants read either literary fiction, nonfiction, popular fiction, or no narrative at all. People exposed to literary fiction performed better on tests measuring theory of mind, which is the ability to recognize the thoughts, emotions and intentions of others.
By following the journey of complex characters, readers train their social and emotional reasoning skills in a safe setting.
A way to reduce emotional overload
Another advantage highlighted by Lauren Grawert: the pace of reading is much slower than that of social networks.
Where digital content often provokes rapid and successive emotional reactions, novels encourage deeper reflection and better emotional regulation. This calmer pace leaves more room for analysis and understanding of emotions rather than immediate reaction.
Many people may experience a more peaceful mind after an hour of reading than after an hour of scrolling on their phone.
How to get back into reading
For those who have lost the habit of reading, experts recommend starting gradually.
Dr. Masry advises spending 10 minutes a day reading rather than aiming for ambitious goals. The important thing is regularity, not how quickly you finish the books.
Lauren Grawert also recommends agreeing not to finish a work that does not arouse interest. Choosing a truly compelling story is key to building a lasting habit, she says.
Finally, audiobooks can be an excellent gateway. They allow you to discover fiction in everyday moments while limiting the temptation of automatic scrolling on social networks.
Beyond simple leisure, reading novels appears to be an activity capable of stimulating concentration, nourishing empathy and supporting cognitive and emotional health. Another reason to open a book rather than your news feed.