Reading for hauora | wellbeing
Photo by Jyotirmoy Gupta. Unsplash. License to use.
The benefits of reading for pleasure extend beyond improving educational outcomes. It can reduce stress, improve empathy and nurture wider hauora (wellbeing). Discover more about how reading helps wellbeing. Find ways to support reading for wellbeing.
Hauora | wellbeing and how reading helps
There's no set definition of wellbeing. Hauora, a Māori philosophy of health, provides a holistic framework. It encompasses 4 dimensions of health that influence and support each other:
taha tinana — physical wellbeing
taha hinengaro — mental and emotional wellbeing
taha whānau — social wellbeing
taha wairua — spiritual wellbeing.
Dr Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model compares hauora to the 4 walls of a whare. While our connection with the whenua/land forms the foundation.
The Fonofale model of wellbeing is also built around the idea of a house, in this case, a Samoan fale. The fale represents the wellbeing of an individual and has several components.
When all walls and components in both of these models are in balance, we thrive. When one or more is out of balance, our wellbeing is impacted.
Hauora — from Ministry of Education's Health and Physical Education Online.
How reading for pleasure helps
Reading for pleasure has been shown to impact all 4 dimensions of health. It improves:
physical, mental and emotional wellbeing — reduces stress and builds self-esteem, life satisfaction and curiosity
social and spiritual wellbeing — builds empathy, connection and a greater understanding of self and others.
Why wellbeing matters
There has been a steady rise in the number of young people experiencing mental and emotional distress in Aotearoa New Zealand. This reflects the ‘rapidly increasing magnitude of challenges they face’. Aotearoa also has one of the worst school bullying rates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The New Zealand Children’s Commissioner’s report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child — Office of the Children’s Commissioner, 2022.
The Government has prepared a national strategy to improve the wellbeing of all children and young people under the age of 25 — Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy.
Reading helps physical, mental and emotional wellbeing
Reading can provide an escape from the stresses and demands of everyday life. On an individual level, it can be a form of self-care.
Reduces stress
When you read, you can immerse yourself in a different world and take your mind off your worries. This can help you relax and unwind, reducing your overall stress levels.
Parents and teachers who read aloud to children and young people know how enjoyable and calming it is for all involved. Reading a book with a child or young person purely for pleasure before sleep has the added advantage of strengthening the parent-child bond.
An analysis of data from the Growing Up in New Zealand study looked at the first 1000 days of child development. It found that when their exposure to stress is high, reading to children is one of the few protective factors.
First 1000 Days — Alex Woodley, 2017.
A 2016 study from Yale in the US found adults over 50 years, who read books for 30 minutes a day, lived on average 2 years longer than those who didn’t read books.
A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity — Yale University School of Public Health, 2016.
‘The untold power of the book’, a 2016 Quick Reads and University of Liverpool study, also found benefits from reading. 41% of adults thought reading a book took their minds off their worries better than going out with friends. Reading inspired many to make positive changes in their life. Changes included taking better care of their health or taking up a new hobby. The study also found that books lead to a more tolerant and empathetic society.
30 minutes reading a week can improve your life
Benefits of reading books: How it can positively affect your life
Improves self-esteem and life satisfaction
In 2018, the UK think tank, Demos, reviewed research about the benefits of reading. They found that readers were 18% more likely to have higher self-esteem and greater life satisfaction than non-readers. This included those who read for as little as 30 minutes a week.
A society of readers — Demos, research commissioned by The Reading Agency, 2018.
Reading builds curiosity and can be a lifelong pleasure
A longitudinal study in Australia tracked the progress of young Australians from the age of 15 to 25 years. The study looked at the role of reading in the development of curious minds. Findings showed that reading correlates with and helps build curiosity.
Why reading books is good for society, wellbeing and your career
Reading improves oral language development and can be an ongoing source of pleasure throughout life. This aligns with Te Mātaiaho (the refreshed NZ curriculum) which identifies reading for pleasure progressions. These include building reading identity and communities.
Learning to read for pleasure is a serious matter — NZ schools should embrace a new curriculum
Helps social and spiritual wellbeing
Reading helps build empathy
Empathy lies at the foundation of compassion, social skills and relationships. It's particularly important for children and young people as they develop their sense of self and others. Psychologists have found that there are many ways to nurture empathy and theory of mind — the ability to understand that others may have beliefs and desires that differ from our own. Reading stories is one.
In a 2020 article, cognitive psychology professor Keith Oatley explained that reading fiction allows people to better understand and share in the feelings of others:
Reading novels enables us to become better at actually understanding other people and what they’re up to … Reading fiction enables you to sample across a much wider range of possible people and come to understand something about the differences among them.
— How reading fiction increases empathy and encourages understanding, Discover magazine
Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind
Narrative non-fiction can also develop empathy, as Nicola Morgan writes:
Stories of anyone in a difficult or different situation have the power to transport us into other minds. To do this, the stories must be well told, following the rules of great story-telling, gripping us emotionally and deeply, so that we can begin to feel a true connection to the people in them.
— Empathy — non-fiction does it just as well as fiction!
Builds connection, inclusion and supports identity
The act of reading — being ‘immersed in a book’ — is a solitary act. But reading is also social and an important connector. Chatting about books and reading can happen casually at school or home, in book groups or at events.
The 2019 report ‘What makes a good life?’ surveyed 6,000 New Zealand children and young people. Respondents named mental and emotional wellbeing as one of 4 top areas needing the most urgent government attention.
They also said: ‘Accept us for who we are and who we want to be’.
Teach acceptance more … Just so that people can learn to accept other cultures, because I feel like what’s happened in the past is that people have been taught it’s okay to just think within your one culture, and that’s it for your whole life. But then the thing is the world is such a vast place.
— Young person from Wellington, ‘What makes a good life’ report
What makes a good life? (2019) — report by Mana Mokopuna | Office of the Children’s Commissioner and Oranga Tamariki | Ministry for Children.
The transition into adolescence
The transition into adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time. Young people in this life phase experience a ‘perfect storm’ of hormones, emotions and physical changes. They often have new schools, peers and increasing academic pressure. Reading provides a reprieve from day-to-day stresses. It also offers an empathetic bridge to the lives of others.
Australian literacy researcher, Margaret Merga talks about how important it is to help tweens and teens:
develop social skills and empathy
consider perspectives, and
connect with others.
She insists that doing this will help them to grow into well-balanced, active citizens.
Canadian researchers looked into the importance of reading for pleasure in the lives of 12- to 15-year-olds. They found:
… teens gain significant insights into mature relationships, personal values, cultural identity, physical safety and security, aesthetic preferences, and understanding of the physical world, all of which aid teen readers in the transition from childhood to adulthood.
— Vivian Howard,
Supporting reading for wellbeing
Provide respite for students by ensuring they have access to safe and welcoming reading environments. Make sure they have reading opportunities at home and at school such as:
significant adults reading aloud to them for pleasure
social and independent reading times
a range of engaging books
book chat with peers and significant others.
Reading for pleasure — a door to success
Having a diverse range of books provides ‘mirrors and windows’ that reflect students' experiences and open up those of others. Ensuring access to such a range is crucial to building identity.
Mirrors and windows in our library collections — National Library Services to Schools' Create Readers blog.
Curated collections from Services to Schools — with books schools can borrow through our lending service. Themes include:
stories of overcoming adversity
inclusive picture books
topics related to neurodiversity.
Bibliotherapy
‘Bibliotherapy’ is reading specific books for therapy or to help you feel ‘you aren’t alone in the river of life’.
It has been around for thousands of years. The ancient library in the tomb of Ramses II at Thebes in Egypt had the phrase ‘place of care for the soul’ above its entrance.
Increasingly, public libraries are collaborating with health services to provide bibliotherapy services. School library staff can work with the school counsellor to share and discuss useful titles that may help students.
Bibliotherapy can enhance personal insight, provide information, suggest alternatives, diminish isolation, clarify emerging values, stimulate discussion and extend the counselling process outside of traditional settings.
— IFLA article outlining the Central Europe 2020 Bibliotherapy project
Readaxation
Nicola Morgan, a UK author and expert on teenage brains and mental health, coined the term ‘readaxation’. Perth High School took this idea and developed ‘Readaxation Lunches’. You might like to try these lunches in your own school.
Our readaxtion lunches have become more important for our pupils and staff wellbeing since the pandemic started. We decided to do [them] monthly instead of now and then.
— Hazel Burns, Senior Library Assistant, Readaxtion Lunches – a Perthect Idea!
Find out more
National Library Services to Schools blog posts and resources
Help children choose kindness — read about some great celebrations, conversations, and books to help children choose kindness.
The power of reading: Pleasure, empathy and social justice — the transformative effect of reading for pleasure.
Hauora: Wellbeing, health and physical education — explore websites, videos and other curated online resources.
Research and articles
Child and youth voices on bullying in Aotearoa — Office of the Children’s Commissioner, 2017.
Does reading fiction make us better people? — a BBC Future article.
He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction
How does fiction reading influence empathy — research into whether reading fiction texts can emotionally transport the reader enough to increase their empathy.
On bibliotherapy — an article by Dr Keren Dali, researcher and educator in the field of Library and Information Science.
Prevalence and predictors of developmental health difficulties within New Zealand preschool-aged children: a latent profile analysis — Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Simultaneously uncovering the patterns of brain regions involved in different story reading subprocesses — research by the Brain Image Analysis Research Group, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology — journal article in Emotion, American Psychological Association.
Books
Merga, M. (2019). Reading engagement for tweens and teens: What would make them read more? Libraries Unlimited.
Merga, M. (2022). School libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing. Facet Publishing.
Wolf, M. (2018). Reader, come home: The reading brain in a digital world. Harper.
