Reading. Getting lost in a story. The words on a page become a movie playing in your mind. Characters you create. Stories that bring tears to your eyes or a smile to your face.

Here’s another perk from the page. When you read an actual book, it lowers your stress levels (one study shows that it might lower stress by as much as 68%) and helps you to sleep better. Using a screen to read late at night, especially right before you go to bed, can mess with your circadian rhythms and make it harder for you to fall asleep or stay asleep (Wise, 2019).