Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence
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Children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence, a Cambridge study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US has found.
The study, conducted by researchers from the UK and China and published in Psychological Medicine, revealed that reading for approximately 12 hours a week was the optimal amount, which was associated with improved brain structure.
The researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development cohort, comparing young people who began reading for pleasure between the ages of two and nine with those who started later or not at all. The findings showed that early readers demonstrated better cognitive performance, including verbal learning, memory, speech development, and academic achievement. They also exhibited improved mental wellbeing, with lower levels of stress, depression, attention problems, aggression, and rule-breaking.
These children tended to spend less time on screens and get more sleep. Brain scans revealed that early readers had larger brain areas and volumes, particularly in regions related to cognitive functions, mental health, behavior, and attention.
The study did not control for the participants language acquisition type, ALP vs GLP. But I would think that parents of GLPs could perhaps replicate the results by spending the same amount of time reading to their children in an emotive and expressive way.
Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence
Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence
Reading for pleasure early in childhood linked to better cognitive performance and mental wellbeing in adolescence
Children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence, a Cambridge study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US has found.
The study, conducted by researchers from the UK and China and published in Psychological Medicine, revealed that reading for approximately 12 hours a week was the optimal amount, which was associated with improved brain structure.
The researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development cohort, comparing young people who began reading for pleasure between the ages of two and nine with those who started later or not at all. The findings showed that early readers demonstrated better cognitive performance, including verbal learning, memory, speech development, and academic achievement. They also exhibited improved mental wellbeing, with lower levels of stress, depression, attention problems, aggression, and rule-breaking.
These children tended to spend less time on screens and get more sleep. Brain scans revealed that early readers had larger brain areas and volumes, particularly in regions related to cognitive functions, mental health, behavior, and attention.
The study did not control for the participants language acquisition type, ALP vs GLP. But I would think that parents of GLPs could perhaps replicate the results by spending the same amount of time reading to their children in an emotive and expressive way.