Sheltering in place, which sounds a lot like what meteorologists order us to do when there’s a tornado in the vicinity, has turned into a rather extended affair. Weeks of isolation are becoming months. People are lamenting a loss of definition to their lives as weekdays and weekends blur together. Sharp distinctions between work hours and downtime aren’t so sharp anymore. The blue light from prolonged screen time is throwing off our biological clocks and sleep schedules. Even caring about the day’s weather, and what we should wear in light of it, hardly matters to our indoor lives.
One consequence of all this indoor time is a lot more idleness than most of us are used to. Since most homes lack a workout gym, people are reporting new levels of sluggishness. “I’m starting to get a tan from the fridge light,” says one internet meme. A New Yorker cartoon depicts a man fixed to his recliner and his wife talking on the phone nearby: “We’re making progress,” she says. “He set off the motion detector this morning.”
Sedentary living is normally not a recommended state of being for good health. Most sedentary behaviors create huge risk factors for mortality, especially in older adults. But a study by Yale University researchers several years ago showed a significant linkage between book reading and longevity. That’s right, reading books leads to cognitive benefits that positively impact greater survival rates. Published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, the research found that book readers averaged a two-year-longer life span than those who did not read at all.
