Reading for about half an hour every day isn't just pleasurable for many people, it can also help you live longer, according to a study from Yale University. Those who read books lived almost two years longer than those who didn't read at all.

Researchers analyzed data on 3,635 people who were age 50 and above. They were divided into three groups — those who didn't read at all, those who read up to 30 minutes a day, and those who read for longer than three and a half hours every week.

People who read the most tended to be women with college educations and high incomes.
Those who read the most lowered their risk of dying during the course of the 12-year study by 23 percent.

Although reading newspapers and magazines was also associated with longer life, reading books offered the most advantage — an average of 23 extra months of life.

The Yale study wasn't the first to link reading with improved health. A study at Britain's University of Sussex found that reading was the best way to conquer stress, out-performing old standbys such as listening to music or taking a walk.

A study published in the journal Neurology found that brain-stimulating exercises, such as reading, cut the rate of mental decline by 32 percent, and research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people who read are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

The new study's results were published in the journal Social Science and Medicine.