Children who begin to read at an early age achieve better scores on cognitive tests and better mental health as they enter adolescenceas reported today by a study released in the United States, according to a specialized magazine.
At work, where more than 10,000 young adolescents were consulted and published by the journal ‘Psychological Medicine’ (published by the University of Cambridge), researchers from the UK and China found that “12 hours per week is the optimal amount of reading, linked to better brain structure, which helps explain the results.”
“Reading for pleasure is an important and enjoyable activity in childhood.. Unlike listening comprehension and spoken language, which develop quickly and easily in young children, reading is a skill that taught and acquired and developed through explicit learning to the
over time,” the study noted.
«During childhood and adolescence, our brain developsso it is an important time to establish behaviors that favor our cognitive development and promote good brain health, “the report expands.
The study
To investigate this impact on the infant brain, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick (United Kingdom) and Fudan University (China) analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development startup in the United Stateswhich recruited more than 10,000
young teenagers.
The team analyzed a wide range of clinical interviews, cognitive tests, mental and behavioral assessments, and brain scansand “compared young people who began to read for pleasure, at a relatively early age (between the ages of two and nine) with those who began to do so later or not at all,” reported the DPA news agency.
The thesis establishes close relationship between reading for pleasure at an early age and positive performance in adolescence on cognitive tests such as “verbal learning, memory, speech development, and school academic performance.”
«Children who began to read earlier tend to spend less time in front of screenswatching television or using networks in his teens, and to sleep longer. Reading is not only a pleasant experience, inspires thought and creativity, increases empathy and reduces stress“, he claimed
Professor Barbara Sahakian, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
«We encourage parents to do everything possible for awakening a love of reading in their children, at an early age, if done well, it will contribute to their development and encourage long-term reading habits, which can also be beneficial in adult life”, said, for his part, el professor Jianfeng Feng, de la Universidad Fudan de Shanghái, China.
Telam Agency