How Reading Improves Memory

A lieutenant colonel with the United States Marine Corps, Jennifer Grieves served as a pilot for the Marines for over two decades. In her free time, LtCol Jennifer Grieves enjoys exercising both her body and mind by riding her Peloton bike and reading.

Reading is associated with plenty of benefits, including improved memory. This partially has to do with the neurobiological process of reading. When a person reads, separate parts of their brain must work together. These parts are associated with language, vision, and associative learning. No other activity, including processing speech or images, forces these sections of the brain to work together in such a complex way.

In addition, reading forces the mind to produce narrative, imagine the plot, and consider comprehension. These activities further benefit the brain by exercising it. As with any muscle, the more the brain is exercised by reading instead of listening or watching, the stronger it becomes.

This increased mental strength plays an important role in brain capacity as a person ages. According to a study from UC Berkeley, reading reduces levels of beta-amyloid in the brain, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s. Another study showed that reading protects memory and thinking skills. And Hong Kong’s Elderly Health Centres found that risk of dementia was lower in people who read books or engaged in other intellectual activities every day.