Reading and Cognition

There are concerns being expressed about the reading levels and the amounts of reading done by the current generation—and the impact this may have related to brain-damaging disease. How much do you read now? How much did you read as a child and adolescent? Chicago’s Rush University studies by Dr. David Bennett has uncovered information that indicates your reading habits between the ages of six and eighteen appear to be crucial predictors of cognitive function decades later. This supports current recommendations that parents read, read, and read to their children and teach them to read. Apparently, challenging the brain early with reading (and perhaps other challenging brain stimulation, may help to build up something called “cognitive reserve,” which can help to counter brain-damaging disease later in life. Word is that Case Western is now studying whether people who develop dementias such as Alzheimer's watched more television throughout life than did seniors who did not evidence dementias such as Alzheimer’s.