Is Reading Your Key to Happiness?

People who want an extra spring in their step may opt for working out, eating something yummy, or chatting with a friend, but there's another way to gain similar, if not stronger effects, and it's called bibliotherapy. Thought to be an ancient form of self-healing, the term was first published in a 1916 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, asserting that a book can serve as "a sedative or stimulant." The writer advocates for novels, rather than "pleasant stories that help you forget yourself." So, basically, you can read any old book and there you have it- the possibility of a deeper felt happiness.

There are currently literature courses run for the elderly suffering from dementia, and prison inmates, with the intention of expanding their minds and realms of meaning. The most common type of reading that promotes holistic happiness as a result? Works of fiction. This is estimated to be due to something rooted in science. Mirror neurons fire in our brains when we read about an experience, and even if we didn't directly go through an experience, we gain empathy for it in real life, due to having intimately observed such a situation within our mind, thanks to the book in our hands. 

Your social intelligence is also said to increase with every work of fiction you delve into. People who reported being avid fiction readers were more likely to be able to accurately decode a person's emotional state from their facial expression. Reading people is thought to be intuitive, but in this age of increasing technology and less face time, fictional stories can bring us closer to understanding how the inner-workings can manifest and be expressed in facial cues. 

There have also been instances in which a person reads an author that meant something to a loved one who has since passed on, and has the opportunity to renew their understanding and appreciation of that person through the words that they once enjoyed. The words and meaning live on, and can lend closure and a therapeutic effect.

While reading isn't a one-stop-shop to happiness, it paves the way for greater empathy, social ease and connection, making happiness only a few pages away.