National Geographic has a new premium content article out regarding the effect of reading books on longevity, as well as on mental health and acuity. The article links to several studies and papers from the past and summarizes their findings. My main takeaways from reading the article: 10-30 minutes of reading fiction books per day can have longevity benefits for those over 50, after other factors are controlled for (vs. magazine or newspaper reading). Listening to audiobooks provides similar benefits.

Archived National Geographic article: https://archive.ph/KMYRR

2016 paper entitled A Chapter a Day – Association of Book Reading with Longevity https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5105607/