I’ve always loved reading books. On a nice day, catch me on a blanket in the park devouring a romcom; on a rainy night, I’ll be snuggled up on my couch with a cozy fantasy; and at bedtime on more nights than I’d like to mention, you’ll find me staying up way too late to get to the end of the newest suspenseful novel.
Reading for pleasure is something that brings me joy and helps me relax—but are there any psychological benefits to making reading part of one’s daily routine?
To find out, Parade spoke with Amberley Meredith, MSc, an Australia-based registered psychologist and the author of the Adaptable Sustainable Psychology book series.
According to Meredith, daily pleasure reading comes with some serious benefits, and reading is a hobby that nearly everyone can benefit from. Read on (pun intended) to learn more about why reading books is so good for us, the five qualities of people who read every day and some alternative hobbies with similar benefits to reading.
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Why Reading for Pleasure Is Good for Your Brain
“There is quite an extensive body of research that has examined the benefits of reading for pleasure,” Meredith tells Parade. “These studies indicate that reading can improve our ability to think critically, help reduce anxiety regarding the unknown and provide the brain with cognitive stimulation.”
According to Meredith, some research suggests that “reading for pleasure can enhance feelings of positivity, evolve self-understanding and improve our capacity for empathy” as well as “help with building self-efficacy.”
Additionally, there is “evidence that there may be links between reading and emotional intelligence, as well as building a sense of connectedness,” she adds.
“Often avid readers might reflect that they feel a genuine sense of loss after finishing a book and missing the characters because the connection and sense of emotional involvement was so real for them,” she shares.
5 Qualities That People Who Read Every Day Often Have
People who read every day are often better tapped into these five qualities, according to Meredith.
1. Empathy
“Reading presents the chance to learn about how different people think in different situations. It can help us explore the kinds of feelings other types of people may experience,” explains Meredith. She adds that when reading, people get “more access and insight into a person’s inner world than we would necessarily get out of just everyday interactions,” which can help them develop cognitive empathy skills, research indicates.
“This may then translate into how we perceive other people in real life,” she shares. “We may identify similarities in context and character from things that we have read, and then transfer this insight to create a better understanding of what someone is going through without them automatically telling us.”
2. Deep focus
According to Meredith, reading every day can help improve one’s ability to focus.
“Daily readers may find their capacity to stay engaged and connected can improve from practicing the sustained attention required to maintain reading, follow information across time and continually having to minimize the intrusion of distractions,” she explains. “Cutting out the noise of the world to remain engaged with a story might be a skill that can then be generalized into other situations, such as listening to others, completing work or mundane tasks.”
3. Strong vocabulary
When people read, they “naturally absorb” the words and content on the page and become more familiar with new words and expressions, according to Meredith. This can help them improve their vocabulary as well as verbal and written communication skills, research has found.
“In this way, reading can be a situation where more is more,” she says. “The more we read, the more we absorb, the more we might then regurgitate that information through our vocabulary.”
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4. Critical thinking
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“Regular readers may find they can more easily assess, analyze and contextualize situations, as reading asks them to do this when following a story,” Meredith tells Parade. “When reading, we are often asked to consider the whole journey the book has taken us on; a story may often require us to acknowledge the beginning and remember the middle in order to understand the end.”
That can then translate to boosting critical thinking skills, research has found.
“A daily reader may also be more inclined to naturally question their assumptions, as stories sometimes show us one side of the story that allows us to draw a conclusion that is only later challenged in the face of other information coming to light,” Meredith adds.
5. Creativity
“Daily reading for pleasure encourages us to enter different worlds, access our imagination and engage in creativity, whether through formulating images for the words we read, imagining possibilities beyond what we are being shown or questioning our own reality or perspective,” states Meredith. Research backs this up as well, especially when it comes to children.
“Diving into diversity may feed our imagination and might improve flexible thinking where we can transcend opinions and emotional reactivity,” she explains. “Expanding our creativity through reading could support us in being able to step beyond what we know and into what could be.”
Related: 45 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time, According to Librarians
Nearly Everyone Can Benefit From Reading More, Especially Those Under Stress
“Almost anyone might benefit from daily reading, according to the research,” says Meredith.
This especially applies to people “in high-demand roles, where external focus is required and there is significant pressure.” She adds that they “might find some balance in pouring themselves into a book that asks very little of them.”
For those under daily stress, the psychologist states that reading can create a healthy period of “mental disengagement from everyday demands” that can reduce pressure to perform, complete tasks and work through to-do lists, and provide exposure to alternative perspectives, experiences or ideas outside of normal day-to-day life.”
She adds that as a mental health professional, “I often enjoy reading stories about dragons and vampires because this is nothing like my daily life. They allow me to go somewhere else where there are no work-based associations and explore life and myself through a different lens.”
Additionally, Meredith notes that research has found that a daily reading habit can help prevent cognitive decline in older adults.
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Adding Reading to Your Routine Isn’t for Everyone—Try These Psychologist-Approved Alternatives
“Whilst there might be a long list of benefits to daily reading, reading isn’t necessarily for everyone, or available to everyone through all phases of their life,” says Meredith.
Some people find reading to be challenging or tiring, and those who are processing grief or trauma may have trouble focusing on a book. And even though people facing those challenges can benefit from reading in some instances, it’s also fair to seek out alternatives, she shares.
“If reading isn’t your jam, what else could take you on that daily basis to a quiet space, where you can shift away from focusing on being you and focus on enjoying the moment?” asks Meredith.
Here are a few of her suggestions for other hobbies that can help bolster things like creativity, empathy and focus:
Putting a car back together.
“The biggest gift reading perhaps offers us is the chance to not perform, not please, not perfect, but to be able to just immerse into being within ourselves without restrictions, without filtering our responses or fears of being judged for exploring different ideas,” Meredith explains. “If you can find another activity that offers the same kind of restorative, safe, creative or absorbing qualities, it may offer some of the same benefits that reading can.”
Related: 13 Best Audiobooks Narrated by Julia Whelan, According to Librarians
Final Takeaways:
There are so many benefits to reading books for pleasure every day.
People who read every day often develop certain positive qualities. These include empathy, focus, a strong vocabulary, critical thinking and creativity.
Reading is a great way to escape stress. For those with high-pressure jobs, reading can transport them to another world.
If reading daily isn’t realistic for you, you can try other hobbies. Cooking, gardening, art and building furniture can all have similar benefits as reading.
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This story was originally published by Parade on Sep 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Life section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.