慢讀書：紙書會帶給我們什么？

在這個日益以推特和電視為中心的世界里，與其他人相比具備巨大優勢的是那些經常閱讀的人，那些從技術中解脫出來讀紙質書的人。

It’s no secret that reading is good for you. Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%， and numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age. One study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their peers. But not all forms of reading are created equal.

閱讀對人有益，這不是什么秘密。僅僅六分鐘的閱讀就足以減少68%的壓力，而諸多研究也表明，閱讀會讓你的大腦隨年齡的增長而保持有效運轉。有一項研究甚至發現，經常閱讀的老年人患老年癡呆癥的可能性比同齡人要小2.5倍。但并不是所有形式的閱讀都“生而平等”。

The debate between paper books and e-readers has been vicious since the first Kindle came out in 2007. Most arguments have been about the sentimental versus the practical， between people who prefer how paper pages feel in their hands and people who argue for the practicality of e-readers. But now science has weighed in1）， and the studies are on the side of paper books.

Reading in print helps with comprehension.

A 2014 study found that readers of a short mystery story on a Kindle were significantly worse at remembering the order of events than those who read the same story in paperback. Lead researcher Anne Mangen of Norway’s Stavanger University concluded that “the haptic2） and tactile3） feedback of a Kindle does not provide the same support for mental reconstruction of a story as a print pocket book does.”

Our brains were not designed for reading， but have adapted and created new circuits4） to understand letters and texts. The brain reads by constructing a mental representation5） of the text based on the placement of the page in the book and the word on the page.

The tactile experience of a book aids this process， from the thickness of the pages in your hands as you progress through the story to the placement of a word on the page. Mangen hypothesizes that the difference for Kindle readers “might have something to do with the fact that the fixity of a text on paper， and this very gradual unfolding of paper as you progress through a story is some kind of sensory offload， supporting the visual sense of progress when you’re reading.”

While e-readers try to recreate the sensation of turning pages and pagination6）， the screen is limited to one ephemeral virtual page. Surveys about the use of e-readers suggest that this affects a reader’s serendipity7） and sense of control. The inability to flip back to previous pages or control the text physically， either through making written notes or bending pages， limits one’s sensory experience and thus reduces long-term memory of the text.

Reading long sentences without links is a skill you need—but can lose if you don’t practice.

Reading long， literary sentences sans links is actually a serious skill that you lose if you don’t use it. Before the Internet， the brain read in a linear fashion， taking advantage of sensory details to remember where key information was in the book by layout.

As we increasingly read on screens， our reading habits have adapted to skim text rather than really absorb the meaning. A 2006 study found that people read on screens in an “F” pattern， reading the entire top line but then only scanning through the text along the left side of the page. This sort of nonlinear reading reduces comprehension and actually makes it more difficult to focus the next time you sit down with a longer piece of text.

Tufts University neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf worries that “the superficial way we read during the day is affecting us when we have to read with more in-depth processing.” Individuals are increasingly finding it difficult to sit down and immerse themselves in a novel. As a result， some researchers and literature-lovers have started a “slow reading” movement， as a way to counteract their difficulty making it through a book.

Reading in a slow， focused， undistracted way is good for your brain.

Slow-reading advocates recommend at least 30 to 45 minutes of daily reading away from the distractions of modern technology. By doing so， the brain can reengage with linear reading. The benefits of making slow reading a regular habit are numerous， reducing stress and improving your ability to concentrate.

Regular reading also increases empathy8）， especially when reading a print book. One study discovered that individuals who read an upsetting short story on an iPad were less empathetic and experienced less transportation and immersion than those who read on paper.

Reading an old-fashioned novel is also linked to improving sleep. When many of us spend our days in front of screens， it can be hard to signal to our body that it’s time to sleep. By reading a paper book about an hour before bed， your brain enters a new zone， distinct from that enacted by reading on an e-reader.

Three-quarters of Americans 18 and older report reading at least one book in the past year， and e-books currently make up between 15% to 20% of all book sales. In this increasingly Twitter- and TV-centric world， it’s the regular readers， the ones who take a break from technology to pick up a paper book， who have a serious advantage over the rest of us.

自從2007年第一部Kindle閱讀器推出以來，有關紙質書與電子閱讀器的爭論一直很激烈。大多數爭論都圍繞著情感與實用性展開，爭論的一方喜歡手撫書卷的感覺，另一方則認為電子閱讀器較實用。但現在，科學也參與到這場爭論中，而且多項研究都站在了紙質書這一邊。

閱讀紙質書有助于理解。

2014年的一項研究發現，在Kindle上閱讀一篇短篇偵探小說的讀者，相比讀平裝書上同一篇小說的讀者，在記憶情節順序方面明顯遜色很多。挪威斯塔萬格大學的首席研究員安妮·芒讓的結論是：“Kindle的觸覺反饋無法像紙質口袋書那樣為故事在大腦中的重現提供相同的協助。”

我們的大腦并不是為了閱讀而“生”，但它已改造并創造出新的回路來理解字詞和文本。大腦在閱讀時會根據書頁在書中的位置以及單詞在書頁上的位置構建文本在頭腦中的呈現方式。

無論是閱讀時你手中書頁的厚薄，還是一個單詞在頁面上所處的位置，紙質書的這類觸覺體驗都促進了大腦的上述運作過程。芒讓猜測，閱讀Kindle與閱讀紙質書的差異“可能與以下事實有關：一段文字在紙上的位置是固定的，而隨著你逐漸深入閱讀故事，書頁漸漸展開，這就仿佛是某種感覺的釋放，有助于你在閱讀時從視覺上看到進展”。

盡管電子閱讀器試圖重現翻頁和標記頁碼的感覺，但屏幕僅限于一個短暫的虛擬頁面。這影響了讀者在閱讀中收獲意外之喜以及他們對文本的掌控感，很多有關電子閱讀器使用情況的調查都表明了這一點。讀者不能翻回到之前的頁面，也不能用有形的方式控制文本，比如手寫批注或折頁，這限制了讀者的感覺體驗，因此降低了對文本的長期記憶。

閱讀沒有鏈接的長句是你需要具備的一項技能，但如果不加練習你可能就會喪失這項技能。

閱讀沒有鏈接的書面長句其實是一項重要的技能，如果不加運用，你就會喪失這項技能。在互聯網誕生之前，大腦以線性的方式閱讀，利用感官細節，通過布局記住關鍵信息在書中的位置。

隨著我們越來越多地在屏幕上閱讀，我們的閱讀習慣也隨之改變為粗略地瀏覽文本，而非真正地理解其含義。2006年的一項研究發現，人們以“F字形”的模式在屏幕上閱讀，即完整地閱讀大標題，但之后僅沿著頁面左側瀏覽文本。這種非線性閱讀方式降低了人們對文本的理解程度，事實上，它會讓你在下次坐下來閱讀篇幅更長的文本時更難集中精力。

塔夫茨大學的神經學家瑪麗安娜·沃爾夫擔憂地表示：“我們不得不進行更深層次的閱讀時，卻受到平日里淺層次閱讀方式的影響。”人們越來越多地發現，坐下來沉浸在一部小說中是件困難的事情。于是，有些研究者和文學愛好者發起了一項“慢閱讀”運動，以此來應對人們讀完一本書的艱難。

以緩慢、集中精力、全神貫注的方式閱讀，對大腦有益。

慢閱讀的倡導者建議人們每天至少用30～45分鐘的時間進行閱讀，遠離現代技術的干擾。這樣一來，大腦能夠重新進行線性閱讀。養成緩慢閱讀的習慣有很多好處，比如減少壓力，增強專注力。

經常閱讀還能增強人們的同理心，特別是在閱讀紙質書時。一項研究發現，讀一篇令人難過的短篇小說時，用iPad閱讀的人不會像讀紙質版的人那樣產生強烈的共鳴，那種身臨其境和投入其中的感覺也會差一些。

閱讀傳統的紙質小說也有助于改善睡眠。我們中的很多人成天對著屏幕，這樣就很難向我們的身體發出該睡覺的信號。在睡前約一小時的時候讀紙質書，你的大腦就進入了一種新的狀態，這種狀態不同于通過電子閱讀器閱讀時構建的狀態。

在18歲及以上的美國人中，有四分之三的人稱自己在過去一年至少讀了一本書，而電子書目前占到了所有圖書銷售的15%～20%。在這個日益以推特和電視為中心的世界里，與其他人相比具備巨大優勢的是那些經常閱讀的人，那些從技術中解脫出來讀紙質書的人。

1.weigh in：積極參與（辯論或討論）

2.haptic [?h?pt?k] adj. 觸覺的

3.tactile [?t?kta?l] adj. 觸覺的，手感舒適的

4.circuit [?s??（r）k?t] n. 回路

5.mental representation：心理表征或知識表征，認知心理學的核心概念之一，指信息或知識在心理活動中的表現和記載方式。

6.pagination [?p?d???ne??（?）n] n. （書、文件等的）頁碼標注

7.serendipity [?ser?n?d?p?ti] n. （偶然發現有趣或珍貴之物的）機緣，幸運

8.empathy [?emp?θi] n. 同情；同感，共鳴