The Benefits of Reading Slowly
I’ve noticed a growing trend in the bookish corners of Social Media… the ‘number of books read in a year’ videos with their almost passive-aggressive competitiveness, where reading is becoming more about performance than pleasure. As a book lover, I applaud the idea of reading more books, but if the number read is more important than the experience of reading, then surely something is being missed.
In a world that moves fast and increasingly demands so much from us, choosing to read slowly and more mindfully might feel like a waste of time. But it can bring deep rest, clarity, and connection - not just to the stories we read, but to ourselves.
Mindful reading invites us to pause. To breathe. To be fully present with the words on the page rather than skimming through them or multitasking with a screen in hand, racing to the end so we can say we’ve read another book. It invites us to immerse ourselves in the pleasure of reading and, when we do that, something magical happens: we begin to destress, restore balance, and gently recharge. And that is so needed in midlife.
IA 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that engaging deeply with literature can improve empathy, reduce stress, and foster greater self-awareness (Koopman et al., 2020). Another study from the University of Sussex showed that just six minutes of reading can reduce stress by up to 68% — more than listening to music or going for a walk (Lewis, 2009). How cool is that!
The key to enjoying these benefits is how we read.
When we slow down, we move beyond simply scanning and mindlessly processing words - we start to feel them. We notice the rhythm of a well-crafted sentence, the connection between characters, the way a story mirrors our own experiences or opens us to something new. We connect more deeply with the subject, themes, and setting. We become fully present.
Try this:
Sit somewhere cosy - maybe with a blanket or soft socks (and a cup of tea, of course).
Read because you want to, not because you think you should.
That goes for genres too - there are no ‘guilty pleasures’, just books you genuinely enjoy. Don’t plough through War & Peace when you’d rather dive into Julia Quinn. Stories are meant to be enjoyed, not endured, and I have no time for book snobbery.
Read without rushing. Pause when a phrase resonates. Enjoy the writing as well as the storytelling.
Let yourself get immersed in the story, instead of hurrying to the end.
Whether it’s an old favourite, new poetry collection, cosy mystery, bodice-ripping romance, or a quiet memoir, slow reading can feel like a form of meditation. It grounds us in the now - no worrying about bills to pay, that thing we said twenty years ago that we still overthink, or what we have to do tomorrow. It turns the stress dial down and the relax dial up.
Remember: it isn’t reading hundreds of books a year that makes you a book lover, it’s the enjoyment you get from them that does.
Sources
Koopman, E., et al. (2020). Literature as a Tool for Emotion Regulation: Evidence from Reading Fiction and Nonfiction. Frontiers in Psychology.
Lewis, D. (2009). Mindlab International at the University of Sussex study on stress reduction and reading.
Have you grabbed my free guide, Read and Restore: Using Books + Stillness to make sense of the World, yet?
