Although more and more people are reading electronically, it seems safe to say that real books aren’t going anywhere.  (Personally, I can’t stand to read electronically. I want to hold a book in my hand.)  It’s a good thing too. As it turns out,  diving into a page-turner has benefits that e-reading does not.

Research suggests that reading on a screen slows you down and that you absorb less of what you read.  Neuroscience, in fact, has shown that you use different parts of your brain when reading from a piece of paper and a screen. Reading on screens trains your brain for “non-linear” reading. This is when you skim a screen or your eyes dart around a web page.

Science says that the tactility and permanence of paper pages provide your brain with a different cognitive and emotional experiences, which can lead to deeper understanding and better comprehension. The scrolling necessary when reading electronically has two negative impacts. Even the small effort required to drag a mouse or swipe a finger is a significant diversion of attention. Text flowing up and down a screen also disrupts visual attention. It constantly forces your eyes to re-focus and search for a new starting point.