The New York Times Health Section reports on some unexpected benefits of reading. Researchers have found that good readers among a cohort of lead smelter workers suffered less severe neurological effects from lead exposure than their co-workers. From the article:

People who are good readers, generally a sign of better education, have been found in earlier studies to have better health. The presumption has been that this is because they can take better care of themselves or afford better food, housing and medical care.

But writing in the July 31 issue of Neurology, researchers said that in this case some smelter employees were protected not as a direct result of their reading but an indirect one. The years of reading, the study said, may have helped their brains develop more of what doctors call cognitive reserve.

Never feel bad about lounging pool side reading, when you could be doing something more productive. You’re working on your cognitive reserve. I’m thinking about laminating the article and carrying it around with me.