Reading newspapers every day improves concentration

The Korean Association of Newspapers announced on Tuesday that reading newspapers every day improves concentration according to a research titled “the analysis of the correlation between reading paper newspapers and brain activities.” The research was conducted by a team led by Professor Han So-won of Seoul National University Department of Psychology.

The research commissioned by the Korean Association of Newspapers in celebration of the Newspaper Day on Tuesday had been conducted for two months from September 2019 to understand how reading newspapers affect cognitive ability. The research team recruited 60 participants who normally did not read newspapers and divided them into two groups with one group reading paper newspapers every day for one month and the other maintaining their normal daily activities.

The research team measured the brainwaves of participants, both before and after completing the one-month task of reading newspapers. Those who read newspapers for one month showed better execution ability to find and analyze key information. Their ability to identify stimuli and detect discordance among objects improved. “The results show that reading newspapers can contribute to the improvement of concentration,” said the research team.


Seong-Taek Jeong neone@donga.com