Kicking up for your feet and indulging in the relaxation of a good read is something many time poor business owners dream about.
But as new research shows, there’s also an added incentive for making time for that crime thriller or best seller.
Emory University in the US, found that reading a good book may cause heightened connectivity in the brain and neurological changes that persist in a similar way to muscle memory.
What’s more, allowing oneself to delve into a gripping novel was found to trigger actual, measurable changes in the brain that linger for at least five days after reading, the scientists said.
“The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist,” neuroscientist Professor Gregory Berns, lead author of the study, said.
“We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”
