The surprising way to live longer – and you don’t even need to get out of bed

Imagine if there was a way you could increase your lifespan while sitting in bed, sunbaking by the pool or even relaxing in a hammock on holidays.

There is – and a new research says it’s reading.

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The study, published in Social Science and Medicine, followed 3635 participants for 12 years and found those who read for up to three-and-a-half hours a week were 17 percent less likely to die than those who didn’t read.

Bookworms who read for even longer than that were 23 percent less likely to die.

Loosely translated, this means book readers live for almost two years on average longer than non-readers.

“People who report as little as a half-hour a day of book reading had a significant survival advantage over those who did not read,” says senior author of the study and Yale professor, Becca R. Levy.

More of a newspaper reader? It's still good news - there’s a similar association with longer life, although it’s weaker than with those who hit the books.

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