When you read, your brain is doing a lot more than just deciphering words on a page. Reading is more neurobiologically demanding than processing images or speech. It’s a neural workout. As you read, disparate parts of your brain — such as vision, language, and associative learning — work together.

According to one study, mental stimulation like reading can help protect memory and thinking skills, especially as you age. The authors even suggest that reading every day can slow down the late-life cognitive decline. In other research, reading has been shown to slow the rate of memory deterioration and the decline of other key mental capacities. This translates indirectly as reading can actually help people live longer.

The act of reading helps to heighten overall brain function and increase memory. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, found that it can lower the levels of beta-amyloid, a brain protein involved in Alzheimer’s, by keeping the mind cognitively stimulated. Reading has also been linked to slowing mental decline by improving overall mental flexibility, an important component to developing and retaining memory.