Reading reduces stress

Really. A study by the University of Sussex (I'm assuming that's in England) found that reading a book (not a blog post or a tweet or an article) for just six minutes a day reduces stress levels by up to 68%. I don't know if that figure goes up exponentially or not, but let's just pretend that it does, because by pretending that it does, it probably will. If that makes sense.

I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to take a stressed out child of mine (possibly one who hasn't gotten enough sleep) and hand them a good book in the midst of their stress. I'm going to encourage them to take a reading time out (explaining to them the 68% business) and see if it helps.

I'll let you know if it works.

In the meantime, enjoy this delicious quote and these delicious (old time) book ideas:

“Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation. This is particularly poignant in uncertain economic times when we are all craving a certain amount of escapism. It really doesn’t matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author’s imagination.” Dr. Lewis 

(I have no idea who Dr. Lewis is. By the way, do any of you regularly find floss in your shower drain? This regularly happens in our house though no one will admit to flossing in the shower. A mystery indeed.)


We love Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. The doughnut machine scene is so classic. We also love its sequel few know about. Centerburg Tales.

We also love Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield


And I'm going to post a book I've posted a thousand times, but this book should be read by everyone at least once. Really.

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

And I'm going to give a shout out here for all the Oz books, and when I say all the Oz books, I mean even the ones written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. The Oz books are not for everyone, but if you have a child who loves the first, try these. There are so many. Thirty or more. This would be a GREAT series to get a child addicted to. My darling mother bought all the original Baum books for me, and Lucy has read them each many, many times. Great for summer reading!