---
title: "Reading Lowers Stress and Deepens Empathy: 8 Ways to Use Books as Medicine This Winter"
description: Reading lowers stress, improves sleep and builds empathy. Eight ways to use books for your wellbeing, including free books on prescription from libraries.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-28T21:40:55.826Z
updated: 2026-10-28T21:43:27.437Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/reading-books-mental-health
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-5698371.webp
categories: Mental Health
content_type: Guide
publication: Rich Health Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

When you open a book and settle into it, your breathing slows, your shoulders drop and the stream of tasks running through your head gives way to someone else's story. Within a few minutes your heart rate falls and the tension in your muscles eases. Few activities absorb your attention so completely while asking so little of your body.

Reading fiction also trains a skill you use every day. When you follow a character's thoughts and motives, you practise the same mental work you do when you try to understand a colleague, a partner or a child. Regular readers of fiction tend to score higher on tests of empathy and on reading other people's emotions.

[Books have been part of health care](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/the-healing-power-of-poetry-a-medicine-as-old-as-writing-itself) for longer than most people realise. In England, the Reading Well scheme lets GPs and other health professionals recommend books on mental health, dementia and long-term conditions, and you can borrow them free from your public library without a referral.

## 1. Read a paper book in the last 30 minutes before sleep

A phone or tablet in bed keeps your mind alert with notifications, bright light and endless scrolling. A printed book under a warm lamp lets your mind slow down. Keep a book on your bedside table and leave your phone charging in another room.

## 2. Ask your library for books on prescription

Reading Well collections cover anxiety, low mood, stress, sleep problems, grief, dementia and long-term illness, with separate lists for children and teenagers. Health experts and people with lived experience choose the titles. Ask at the desk or browse the shelves for the Reading Well label.

## 3. Choose fiction to feel and nonfiction to solve

Novels help you step outside your own life and see it with fresh eyes, which makes them a good choice when you feel stuck or isolated. Practical nonfiction helps when you face a specific problem, such as caring for a parent, managing a health condition or changing careers. A balance of both serves most people well.

## 4. Read aloud to someone

[Reading aloud to a child, a partner or an elderly parent](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/poetry-aloud-calm-breathing) combines the benefits of reading with time spent together. Children who are read to at home build larger vocabularies and stronger concentration. Older adults who struggle with small print or failing sight often value a shared chapter more than any gift.

## 5. Join or start a book group

A monthly book group gives you a reason to finish a book and [a regular evening with people who share an interest](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/loneliness-making-friends-midlife). It also introduces you to books you would never have chosen yourself. Many libraries and bookshops run free groups, and a group of four friends around a kitchen table works just as well.

## 6. Put a book where your phone usually sits

Most of us reach for a phone in idle moments, such as waiting for the kettle or sitting on a train. Keep a book in your bag, on the kitchen counter and beside your favourite chair. Ten pages read in spare moments add up to a dozen books a year.

## 7. Return to the books that comfort you

Rereading a favourite novel is not a waste of time. When you know how a story ends, you can enjoy the language and the company of the characters without the strain of suspense. Many people find that a familiar book is the best remedy for a sleepless night or an anxious week.

## 8. Give a book with a note

A book chosen for a specific person, with a few lines explaining why, is one of the most personal gifts you can give. It tells the recipient you have thought about their life and their tastes. This Christmas, consider a book for each person on your list.

Reading asks for nothing more than a little time and a comfortable chair. In return, it gives you rest, perspective and the company of minds you would never otherwise meet.