Reading As A Cognitive Exercise

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Reading, Better

It is relatively uncontroversial to say that reading is good for cognitive health, but we don’t like to make claims without science if we can help it, so let’s get started:

There was a 2021 study, which found that even when controlling for many other factors, including highest level of education, socioeconomic status, and generalized pre-morbid intelligence:

❝high reading activity, as defined by almost daily reading, was associated with lower odds of cognitive decline, compared to low reading activity❞

~ Dr. Carol Chan

Source: Can reading increase cognitive reserve?

However, not all reading is the same. And this isn’t just about complexity or size of vocabulary, either. It’s about engagement.

And that level of engagement remains the key factor, no matter how quickly or slowly someone reads, as the brain tends to automatically adjust reading speed per complexity, because the brain’s “processing speed” remains the same:

Read more: Cognitive coupling during reading

Everyone’s “processing speed” is different (and is associated with generalized intelligence and executive functions), though as a general rule of thumb, the more we practice it, the faster our processing speed gets. So if you balked at the notion of “generalized intelligence” being a factor, be reassured that this association goes both ways.

Read more: The unique contribution of working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and intelligence to reading comprehension and reading speed

So is the key to just read more?

That’s a great first step! But…

The key factor still remains: engagement.

So what does that mean?

It is not just the text that engages you. You must also engage the text!

This is akin to the difference between learning to drive by watching someone else do it, and learning by getting behind the wheel and having a go.

When it comes to reading, it should not be a purely passive thing. Sure, if you are reading a fiction book at bedtime, get lost in it, by all means. But when it comes to non-fiction reading, engage with it actively!

For example, I (your writer here, hi), when reading non-fiction:

  • Read at what is generally considered an unusually fast pace, but
  • Write so many notes in the margins of physical books, and
  • Write so many notes using the “Notes” function on my Kindle

And this isn’t just like a studious student taking notes. Half the time I am…

  • objecting to content (disagreeing with the author), or
  • at least questioning it, or which is especially important, or
  • noting down questions that came to my mind as a result of what I am reading.

This latter is a bit like:

  • when you are reading 10almonds, sometimes you will follow our links and go off down a research rabbit-hole of your own, and that’s great!
  • sometimes you will disagree with something and write to tell us, and that’s great too (when this happens, one or the other or all of us will learn something, and yes, we have published corrections before now)!
  • sometimes what you read here will prompt a further question, and you’ll send that to us, and guess what, also great! We love questions.

Now, if your enjoyment of 10almonds is entirely passive, don’t let us stop you (we know our readers like quick-and-easy knowledge, and that’s good too), it’s just, the more you actively engage with it, the more you’ll get out of it.

This, by the way, was also a lifelong habit of Leonardo da Vinci, which you can read about here:

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day – by Michael J. Gelb

a very good book that we reviewed last year

How you read (i.e. what medium) matters too!

Are you reading this on a desktop/laptop, or a mobile device? That difference could matter more than the difference between paper and digital, according to this study from 2020 that found…

❝The cumulation of evidence from this and previous studies suggests that reading on a tablet affords different interactions between the reader and the text than reading on a computer screen.

Reading on a tablet might be more similar to reading on paper, and this may impact the attentional processes during reading❞

~ Dr. Ugo Ballenghein et al.

Read more: Cognitive engagement during reading on digital tablet: Evidence from concurrent recordings of postural and eye movements

What if my mind wanders easily?

You can either go with it, or train to improve focus.

Going with it: just make sure you have more engaging reading to get distracted by. It’s all good.

Training focus: this is trickier, but worthwhile, as executive function (you will remember from earlier) was an important factor too, and training focus is training executive function.

As for one way to do that…

Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering

If you’d like a primer for getting going with that, then you may enjoy our previous main feature:

No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness

Enjoy!

Don’t Forget…

Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

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  • Women don’t have a ‘surge’ in fertility before menopause – but surprise pregnancies can happen, even after 45

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Every now and then we see media reports about celebrities in their mid 40s having surprise pregnancies. Or you might hear stories like these from friends or relatives, or see them on TV.

    Menopause signals the end of a woman’s reproductive years and happens naturally between age 45 and 55 (the average is 51). After 12 months with no periods, a woman is considered postmenopausal.

    While the chance of pregnancy is very low in the years leading up to menopause – the so called menopausal transition or perimenopause – the chance is not zero.

    So, what do we know about the chance of conceiving naturally after age 45? And what are the risks?

    IKO-studio/Shutterstock

    Is there a spike in fertility before menopause?

    The hormonal changes that accompany perimenopause cause changes to the menstrual cycle pattern, and some have suggested there can be a “surge” in fertility at perimenopause. But there’s no evidence this exists.

    In the years leading up to menopause, a woman’s periods often become irregular, and she might have some of the common symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes and night sweats.

    This might lead women to think they have hit menopause and can’t get pregnant anymore. But while pregnancy in a woman in her mid 40s is significantly less likely compared to a woman in her 20s or 30s, it’s still possible.

    The stats for natural pregnancies after age 45

    Although women in their mid- to late 40s sometimes have “miracle babies”, the chance of pregnancy is minimal in the five to ten years leading up to menopause.

    The monthly chance of pregnancy in a woman aged 30 is about 20%. By age 40 it’s less than 5% and by age 45 the chance is negligible.

    We don’t know exactly how many women become pregnant in their mid to late 40s, as many pregnancies at this age miscarry. The risk of miscarriage increases from 10% in women in their 20s to more than 50% in women aged 45 years or older. Also, for personal or medical reasons some pregnancies are terminated.

    According to a review of demographic data on age when women had their final birth across several countries, the median age was 38.6 years. But the range of ages reported for last birth in the reviewed studies showed a small proportion of women give birth after age 45.

    Having had many children before seems to increase the odds of giving birth after age 45. A study of 209 women in Israel who had conceived spontaneously and given birth after age 45 found 81% had already had six or more deliveries and almost half had had 11 or more previous deliveries.

    A couple outdoors smiling. The woman is pregnant.
    Conceiving naturally at age 45 plus is not unheard of. pixelheadphoto digitalskillet/Shutterstock

    There’s no reliable data on how common births after age 45 are in Australia. The most recent report on births in Australia show that about 5% of babies are born to women aged 40 years or older.

    However, most of those were likely born to women aged between 40 and 45. Also, the data includes women who conceive with assisted reproductive technologies, including with the use of donor eggs. For women in their 40s, using eggs donated by a younger woman significantly increases their chance of having a baby with IVF.

    What to be aware of if you experience a late unexpected pregnancy

    A surprise pregnancy late in life often comes as a shock and deciding what to do can be difficult.

    Depending on their personal circumstances, some women decide to terminate the pregnancy. Contrary to the stereotype that abortions are most common among very young women, women aged 40–44 are more likely to have an abortion than women aged 15–19.

    This may in part be explained by the fact older women are up to ten times more likely to have a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities.

    There are some extra risks involved in pregnancy when the mother is older. More than half of pregnancies in women aged 45 and older end in miscarriage and some are terminated if prenatal testing shows the fetus has the wrong number of chromosomes.

    This is because at that age, most eggs have chromosomal abnormalities. For example, the risk of having a pregnancy affected by Down syndrome is one in 86 at age 40 compared to one in 1,250 at age 20.

    A woman in hospital holding a newborn baby.
    There are some added risks associated with pregnancy when the mother is older. Natalia Deriabina/Shutterstock

    Apart from the increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities, advanced maternal age also increases the risk of stillbirth, fetal growth restriction (when the unborn baby doesn’t grow properly), preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and caesarean section.

    However, it’s important to remember that since the overall risk of all these things is small, even with an increase, the risk is still small and most babies born to older mothers are born healthy.

    Multiple births are also more common in older women than in younger women. This is because older women are more likely to release more than one egg if and when they ovulate.

    A study of all births in England and Wales found women aged 45 and over were the most likely to have a multiple birth.

    The risks of babies being born prematurely and having health complications are higher in twin than singleton pregnancies, and the risks are highest in women of advanced maternal age.

    What if you want to become pregnant in your 40s?

    If you’re keen to avoid pregnancy during perimenopause, it’s recommended you use contraception.

    But if you want to get pregnant in your 40s, there are some things you can do to boost your chance of conceiving and having a healthy baby.

    These include preparing for pregnancy by seeing a GP for a preconception health check, taking folic acid and iodine supplements, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and having a nutritious diet.

    If you get good news, talking to a doctor about what to expect and how to best manage a pregnancy in your 40s can help you be prepared and will allow you to get personalised advice based on your health and circumstances.

    Karin Hammarberg, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • The Best 4 Pool Exercises to Strengthen Your Core & Tone Up

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    A lot of people don’t love working on their core strength, but exercising in the pool can make it a lot more enjoyable, as well as minimizing risk of injury.

    Dr Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis specialist, also advises “being in the water also helps to control for balance and can offload the joints so they aren’t as painful”:

    The gentlest exercise

    The specific exercises she recommends are:

    Wood Chops

    Stagger your feet, clasp your hands, and submerge them in the water. Now, move your hands diagonally from one side to the other. This engages your core and balance using water resistance. Perform 10–20 reps per side, exhaling on the hardest part.

    Front Kick with Opposite Arm Press

    Kick one leg forward while pushing the opposite arm out or overhead—higher kicks increase difficulty by requiring more balance. If balance isn’t sufficient for you yet, hold onto the pool wall if needed. Either way, engage the core to lift the leg. Do 20–30 reps alternating sides.

    Wall Push-Ups

    Place your hands on the pool wall, shoulder-width apart. Keep feet together and hips slightly tucked for core engagement. Next, move your chest toward the wall and push back while maintaining a straight body—avoid arching your back. Do 10–20 reps.

    Arm Circles

    Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width. Clasp your hands, extend your arms, and submerge them in the water. Make large circular motions for resistance training. This can be done with straight or bent arms for different difficulty levels. Do 10–20 circles in each direction.

    For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Osteoporosis & Exercises: Which To Do (And Which To Avoid)

    Take care!

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  • 7 Signs of Undiagnosed Autism in Adults

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    When it comes to adults and autism, there are two kinds of person in the popular view: those who resemble the Rain Man, and those who are making it up. But, it’s not so, as Paul Micallef explains:

    The signs

    We’ll not keep them a mystery; they are:

    1. Social interaction difficulties: such a person may struggle with understanding social cues, leading to awkwardness, isolation, or appearing eccentric.
    2. Need for structure and routine: either highly structured or disorganized, both of which stem from executive function challenges. The former, of course, is a coping mechanism, while the latter is the absence of same.
    3. Sensory sensitivities: can include sensitivities or insensitivities to light, sound, temperature, smells, tastes, and so forth.
    4. Spiky skillset: extreme strengths in certain areas, coupled with significant difficulties in others, leading to uneven abilities. May be able to dismantle and rebuild a PC, while not knowing how to arrange an Über.
    5. Emotional regulation issues: experiences of meltdowns, shutdowns, or withdrawal as coping mechanisms when overwhelmed. Not that this is “or”, not necessarily “and”. The latter goes especially unnoticed as an emotional regulation issue, because for everyone else, it’s something that’s not there to see.
    6. Unusual associations: making mental connections or associations that seem random or uncommon compared to others. The mind went to 17 places quickly and while everyone else got from idea A to idea B, this person is already at idea Q.
    7. Being “just different”: a general sense of being the odd one out, standing out in subtle or distinct ways. This is rather a catch-all, but if there’s someone who fits this, there’s a good chance, the other things apply too.

    For more on all of these, whether pertaining to yourself or a loved one (or both!), enjoy:

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  • Celery vs Chard – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing celery to chard, we picked the chard.

    Why?

    In terms of macros, chard has more fiber, carbs, and protein, making it the more nutrient-dense option and thus the winner of the macros category.

    In the category of vitamins, celery has more of vitamins B5 and B9, while chard has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E, K, and choline—another win for chard.

    When it comes to minerals, celery is not higher in any minerals, while chard has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. One more very clear win for chard!

    Looking at polyphenols, celery has very little to boast, about 3mg/100g furanocoumarins and nothing else, while chard has an impressive array of polyphenols, with 9mg/100g kaempferol and 7.5mg/100g quercetin atop the list of 12 polyphenols. Yet another win for chard.

    Adding up the sections is not difficult arithmetic today: chard sweeps every category. But by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like:

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    Enjoy!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • The Myth of Normal – by Dr. Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté

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    A lot of popular beliefs (and books!) start with the assumption that everyone is, broadly speaking, “normal”. That major diversions from “normal” happen only to other people… And that minor diversions from “normal” are just something to suck up and get over—magically effecting a return to “normalcy”.

    Dr. Maté, however, will have none of these unhelpful brush-offs, and observes that in fact most if not all of us have been battered by the fates one way or another. We just:

    • note that we have more similarities than differences, and
    • tend to hide our own differences (to be accepted) or overlook other people’s (to make them more acceptable).

    How is this more helpful? Well, the above approach isn’t always, but Mate has an improvement to offer:

    We must see flawed humans (including ourselves) as the product of our environments… and/but see this a reason to look at improving those environments!

    Beyond that…

    The final nine chapters of the books he devotes to “pathways to wholeness” and, in a nutshell, recovery. Recovery from whatever it was for you. And if you’ve had a life free from anything that needs recovering from, then congratulations! You doubtlessly have at least one loved one who wasn’t so lucky, though, so this book still makes for excellent reading.

    Dr. Maté was awarded the Order of Canada for his medical work and writing. His work has mostly been about addiction, trauma, stress, and childhood development. He co-wrote this book with his son, Daniel.

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  • Unwell Women – by Dr. Elinor Cleghorn

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    For a demographic that makes up a little over half of the world’s population, women are paradoxically marginalized in healthcare. And in other ways too, but this book is about health.

    Dr. Cleghorn had to fight for seven (!) years to get her own lupus condition recognized as such, and continues to have to fight for it to be taken seriously on an ongoing basis. And yet, 95% of the book is not about her and her experiences, but rather, the bigger picture.

    The book is divided into sections, by period in history. From Hippocrates to the modern day, Dr. Cleghorn gives us a well-researched, incredibly well-referenced overview of the marginalization of women’s health. Far from being a dry history book in the early parts though, it’s fascinating and engaging throughout.

    The modern day sections are part shining a light into dark areas, part practical information-and-advice “did you know this happens, and you can do this about it”, and part emphatic call-to-action to demand better.

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