Human beings are social beings. As humans, we long for connections with each other. While, our youth is replete with social activities, during old age, one suffers from severe social isolation, affecting their emotions and physical health. Reading books in old age can make one’s life beautiful! The benefits of reading are that books and magazines serve as your companion in old age and provide you with a plethora of information and entertainment. The question of why reading is a senior citizen’s best friend can have a number of answers. For example, as we grow up our friends circle shrinks as we ourselves do not have the stamina to visit them often nor are we tech-savvy to keep touch using new technologies like video calling. In this case, if one falls in love with reading books, then the benefits of reading books can enhance the readers’ mental as well as physical health.
In old age, one should have opportunities to engage in productive ageing activities, and one of the best leisure activities of senior citizens is reading. During these golden days, reading books and magazines can make them feel enthused and energized.

In this blog, we let us know Why reading is a senior citizen’s best friend?

Healthy Mental Health- Some elders are very conscious about physical health, e.g. they do physical exercises and follow a healthy diet but somehow they ignore their mental health. By reading books they can improve their mental health. Reading improves perception, cognition and critical thinking abilities during old age. That’s why reading is a senior citizen’s best friend.

Lifelong Learning- When it comes to reading, the elderly get exposed to different cultures, different traditions, general knowledge topic and scientific advances. Along with this, through magazines, they stay up-to-date with latest trends, topics, movies, inventions and technologies which may increase their confidence and abilities to do tasks easily and efficiently. This is why reading is important for senior citizens.

Improved Memory- The main benefit of reading is that it serves as an exercise to the brain. Reading improves the brain’s functioning, vocabulary, pronunciation and writing skills. These are some reasons why reading is important in old age.
NGO for old age are recognizing that loneliness is the biggest challenge for the elderly and are creating various avenues to keep the elderly active. Dignity Foundation has the most experience in promoting companionship through reading through its Dignity Dialogue magazine.

Dignity Dialogue started in 1995 and till date publishes monthly hard-copy and e-copy magazines in full colour. These magazine issues carry interesting cover stories, features and interviews on topics like travel, finance, health, humour, technology, etc. More information about Dignity Dialogue can be found here (Dignity Dialogue | Magazine for Elderly | Dignity Foundation)

We can conclude that Reading is the best friend for senior citizens’ improved mental health even if they live alone or feel lonely. Hence, senior citizens should not give up on their reading habit.