Because you need reading glasses at 40 and are convinced you don’t need them yet that’s why you read slower sheesh people it’s the truth and sometimes the truth hurts but facts you can’t deny like this one
@@Hannahorse715 that's probably an oversimplification. In my case, I can't tell if there's a mental component or not right now as I started becoming significantly far-sighted about 6 years ago. My specific area of good focus even with correction is smaller as well. So, at the moment, my eyes ARE the bottleneck. Could change later, though.
@@Hannahorse715 but that maybe only applies to people that don't normally wear glasses. What about people that have had corrective eye surgery as a baby/infant and have had to wear glasses all their life. Personally I've found that text size and spacing between the lines helps the reading as I've had corrective eye surgery and now one eye is longsighted and the other is shortsighted.
@@worri3db3ar well I am kind of the same I have astigmatisum just astigmatisum and I have had it since 4th grade now 28 and I wear my glasses most of the time except for close up things I haven't needed reading glasses or bifocals yet but maybe by 40 I will who knows I doubt I will because of my astigmatisum
As I have gotten older, I have found that intrusive thoughts keeps me from being able to keep a focus reading. So, I started listening to audio books. While I miss the action of holding a book and marking it up like in college, listening has helped me to continue learning. The ability to adapt and find what works for you is so important to keep the mind active.
Oh, I'm worse with audio books a lot of the time. I feel like I'm just wasting time if I'm just sitting and listening to something so I tend to pair it with other activities that require less thought. The problem is I'm still much more easily distracted and I hate missing things so I end up rewinding and relistening to quite a bit
"Executive function gets a little worse" explains why ADHD symptoms become so strong in some people at that age given that it's a 'disorder' of the Executive Function.
@@NathanButh my symptoms went ballistic when i turned 21(last year), so much that i couldn't ignore it and got diagnosed... maybe we're seeing the worst of it.
@@NathanButh If this is something that concerns you, do some research on the brain-gut connection. Learning how to bolster your microbiome through testing and diet can be of great benefit.
My significant other has been telling me for a year that he's pretty sure I have ADHD, which sucks for me with things like executive dysfunction since that's gotten worse over the past five years now that I'm approaching my 30s.
@@NathanButh My ADHD has gotten worse over the years, especially after I turned 40. I don't know if it has actually gotten worse, or my ability to control it has lessened. My advice is to start some sort of aerobic exercise (running, swimming, biking, tennis, etc.). It does help.
Anecdotally, I didn't even become a big reader until like 22/23 or somewhere around there, and it only feels like I've gained a bit of speed over time, but the real gain is being able to read through a big book uninterrupted, instead of tiny chunks, seems to work better for me as I get older.
ofc, they left that part that if you just stay idle, why would you stop reading/exercising/practicing at such early age? Roflmao.... You can read alot faster in your 30s or 40s than you read at 18, but you need consistency and reading everyday
As a neuroscientist, I’m endlessly fascinated by how our cognitive abilities change over time. Maybe I should make a video on reading speeds. 🤔 Our brains are something we STILL don’t understand entirely and there’s a crazy amount we have yet to learn through experimentation. Love that we have videos breaking down the science on here. Thanks for the inspo!!!
But audiobooks are so time consuming for me, I find it hard to focus on the actual book if I'm also trying to do something else, and then I might as well just read it myself at a faster pace than audiobooks go along, or I'd have to try and listen to it at 2x speed or something
@@BarbarianGod ya, I understand that. I will listen at 1.5 to 1.75 at times. I also listen in the car. Unless the voice actor and story are amazing. Then I'll sit down with some tea or coffee and absorb.
There are so many methodological flaws with the study making them double their speed, I can't even list them all. Of course, doubling the speed won't work.
I just find that I spend more time thinking about the ideas, situations, character motivations, plot devices, etc etc. Instead of just plowing thru written word, I like to savour it.
@@Sk8rToon I’m not sure if anyone else does this. Sometimes my eyes will still be reading, but I’m trying to imagine the landscape and have to go back to find where I stopped paying attention. 😂
I can read words as a whole even if the text is out of focus and when I am reading a novel I don't even see the page/ebook reader screen as I am fully immersed at the conscious level in a dream like state that is representing the narrative of the story. Even with more logical and procedural content I am visualising the meaning and not really conscious of the methods used to transmit it. This lead me to conclude that you can't easily generalise about how people read as they don't all process encoded visual information the same way regardless of age and cognitive fitness status.
In my experience everything slows down with aging. I am 71 years old and have had to watch these videos over the past 10 years at .75% speed; I just cannot absorb the words or information fast enough. Many other videos as well. When it became fashionable for young people to speak at New York City speed I could not make out all of what they said starting years ago. All my movements are slow; I have to make my mind lower its expectations of timing so I don't stumble or drop things or knock stuff over.
Who feels more energetic when they aged past their 20s? How much information do you have in your head from 10 years ago to today? You're prioritizing energy and mental capacity.
I use "Read Aloud" feature in Microsoft browser to help me read long article, it is less tedious. I can focus on the word better because... somehow it is less tedious to see and hear the word than actually reading the words. No idea why.
My reading speed has definitely slowed. I used to be able to slowly read a book over a few weeks, and now I don't read at all!! 😜 Honestly though, nice video. I definitely have issues with crowding, because I'd often have my eyes wander down the page to the next sentence or two before I finished reading the current sentence. Also, the phonological loop is a very cool concept!
I'm 66 and I still read fast. Some books read fastest or slower, it depends on the writing. Some books are lighter reading and quick, others have to be savored.
This makes me wonder if they controlled for interest level in the reading material given to people in the study(studies?) talked about in the video. That’s a very important point in my book reading speed too
@@FMFF_ Yes, interest level can certainly make a difference. I read for myself, so I'm going to read what appeals to me. That being said, I have read some books that were of interest, but the writing was too dry or insipid to be enjoyable. I have forced myself to finish some books like that because I wanted to know what happened. Otherwise, I check if there is a synopsis available. Unless it's for work or school, you are allowed to quit reading a book you're not enjoying! Isn't that wonderful! More time for better books!
I think it has more to do with how fast your brain can sort through information. As you grow older, you accumulate more and more information. As you read, your brain tries to sift through your memories to see if it has encountered that information before. The more information it has to sort through, the slower it seems.
crazy thing, my reading skills and speed have increased greatly as i get older. im thinking this only applies to people who dont read or those who have a hard time retaining knowledge.
As with most human traits this has to be the average of a distribution (probably a Gaussian one), not a one-size-fits-all. As someone who has been a perpetual student all their life, I find I read much faster now than I did in my 20s and 30s. For non-technical reading matter I can take in quarter pages of books with not much more than a glance which is something I couldn't do at all in my earlier years. Through the decades I have become more skilled at speed-reading, skimming, and browsing. Studying and learning has always been my raison d'etre and my brain seems to have developed to accommodate this. My point in writing this comment is that there is variation between people. Not all will slow down with age. So often when we hear of research in psychology we are presented with the average as though it is the universal case. It is not. As well as the mean there is standard deviation, and in a large sample there will be individuals far away from that centre point both above and below.
I used to read constantly when I was young, although not too fast because I was easily distracted, but I had a pretty good "phonological loop". A car accident (brain injury) at 22 drastically reduced that Loop (among other things), and my reading speed got really bad. By my late 30s I had basically given up reading. When I really try to read a book now, it takes weeks. I have a huge selection of books I intend to get to someday, but realistically I never will because it's too big a chore. And I have kids now, the biggest distraction of them all.
I'm in my mid thirties and have noticed that I get lost easier in walls of text. I recently switched to the Open Dyslexic font on my devices and it's helped a lot.
Well, it is not a race so you don't have to always read fast. When you're are older how much others things you're going to do, that you would need to read books faster? As a last resort there will always be audio books.
I always use to read slow as dirt but over time I have actually speed up my reading over the decades. Of course, any slower reading and I would still be on my first book. I also find listening to audio books at 1.25 speed while reading helps me make sure I keep my speed up even when not listening them while reading the same book.
I'm always excited to hear new discovers about typical brain development. But after each video I'm left wondering "does this work different in a blind person?" I'm visually impaired. Though I can clearly see large print, I still read it so very slowly. Sounds like that thing about peripheral anticipation of what's next may be a factor. With almost no peripheral vision, my brain can't prep for the upcoming words, thus reading is slowed. Then slower reading means poor reading comprehension. I wanted so bad to be an avid reader. At least there's audio books.
Have you tried comics/manga? Shonen Jump has an app that lets you read legal manga, first 3 charpters free and the 3 most recent too I believe... otherwise a small subscription fee/month. Last time I used it, they let you double tap a panel so it zooms in on each and will bring you to the next to read in order.
There was a longitudinal study on aging done in Florida. When the subjects died their brains were examined. One person's brain showed advanced signs of Alzheimer's, but there was no traditional manifestation during life. Different parts of the brains are affected by the plaques and tangles. Reading comprehension may be one of them I do know of one case that it seems that comprehension of conversatios is affected
I’m 26 and read super slowly. I was always the last in class to finish reading a page. But I did phonological loop tests and mine is over twice the average, so that’s not the problem. I perform pretty well on these short and fun lab tests. ...Then, they gave me a long, boring sustained attention test. My performance crashed after 5 minutes. So you can add that to the reasons why one might read slowly. Attention.
What techniques can I use to keep my reading speed constant? I'm sure reading frequently is one but you can not just drop this knowledge and provide no methods on how to fight it. That's just mean
I'm 30 now and I don't feel any cognitive slow down honestly I feel smarter then I ever have. But I do feel it in my body. Things like holding my balance are getting harder.
Font is also something I'd like to know about. Older people are probably used to times New Roman everywhere, whereas our generation gets helvetica everywhere.
It is called distraction. I get distracted during reading when I grow older because I constantly relate to daily things and what I can apply the new info to them. I am not completely out of focus but there are a lot more info to process all happen in realtime during reading operation.
I'm 24 now and I've definitely noticed some minor decline in my reading speed, but I think it's mostly a result of an increase in patience and conscientiousness as it seems to be directly correlated to better comprehension and retention.
What about sociological studies? Is the slowdown related to the training in reading? Are literates or scientists slowing down the same as carpenters or salesmen? BTW, this would also "solve" the 20 vs 50 years old problem, as usually people in their 20s are more likely to have recently finished their studies (or are even continuing them).
Don't discourage me. I have just started learning a new language and in the phase where I'm practicing how to read characters. I'm still looking forward to speed up my reading skills. Also, earlier before I have seen this video, I was searching online on how many hours can an average reader finish the whole 1Q84 and this is making me accept that I read slower than average.
Mine started at around my 30s. It freaks me out bc in my case it just declined my drive for reading. When i do read its usually short articles and i usually have to go back and re-read. Ive had to re-read all my life as I have ADHD and my attention span is not good so I guess my brain just doesnt want to deal with that anymore? Idk....i miss reading and having the energy for it.
Why do people read more slowly as they get older? Why do people become more conservative as they grow older? The answer is the same. The life experiences we’ve accumulated give rise to a stronger conscience. Stronger constraints on movement. All behaviors. Including the behavior of which thoughts to think are more strongly constrained. This is reflected in slower reading speed. We simply process the information more deeply by relating it to our existing predictive model of the world looking for opportunities to improve it. The brain is a sensory motor brain after all. It evolved because it enabled organisms to respond to sensory experiences with superior moves in the world. Continuously improving your ability to make superior moves in the world requires deeper contemplation of sensory experience. When you are young, you don’t know anything. You need to accumulate experiences. After you have accumulated these experiences, and learned from them, the situation is very different. Now, through decades of experiences making mistakes you have forged a hard won predictive model of the world and you are more strongly inclined to avoid making mistakes which could be avoided by simply paying closer attention to your sensory experience. You are now much more strongly inclined to compare new sensory experiences to existing predictive models. Why? Because you have learned through experience, that this is a rewarding behavior. This is how you improve your predictive model. By contrast, when you skip over information that could’ve been used to prevent mistakes you’ve made, you are punished with the pain of regret. What you aim determines what you see. What do you focus on. What you filter out. If you see slower reading speed, it’s probably because you have an aim that favors faster reading speed. For example, winning the zero sum game. Again, younger people have a less developed conscience than older people. If you think speed is more important than contemplation, watch the cognitive trade off hypothesis video.
Do you have any old videos talking about these points related to dyslexia and ADHD? If so, could you link them? If not, would you address them. People keep asking me questions on how I do things with audio books and why reading visually isn't really useful. But I don't really know how to explain. I only know how I process information. Even though i know the points in encoding and decoding, I don't really understand how that works for neurotypical people. Its like trying to explaon friench without knowing English, or explaining sound to the deaf.
When I read, I integrate the new information I'm reading with the knowledge I've already gained previously. As I've gotten older, I have accumulated more knowledge with which I need to integrate any new information. Thus, it takes longer. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.
I'm naturally a fast reader, so this won't be a problem for me. I have noticed my reading speed slow down a little, but I also deliberately read a little bit slower than I need to, just to make sure I'm taking it all in.
Sir Terry Pratchett had the type of Alzheimer's where he struggled more with the written word than the spoken. For some reason I obviously don't understand he apparently could "write" his last few books better because of Speech recognition software. The genius we lost because of that illness makes me so angry, as well as for anyone suffering from it in any form. My great gran had it really bad for the last 5 or so years of her life and she became unrecognisable almost. Horrible.
Mental engagement takes energy and we have less as we age... were lazy and dont feel the need to focus and push for speed where as at 16 thats just normal...
To all those taking this literally, Remember this: You have a choice, either improve or get worse, a person who studies and reads daily (has it habit) will beat amy teenager or someone who is 15-20 of age, is just a fact, the more you read, the better you become at reading, simple. So don't cry, do something. :)
Oh my god I hate this, I already read very slowly in my 20s and trip over words all the time. It's always been like this. And you're telling me it's only gonna get worse? 😭
😆 I'm 59 and I still can read a book in two days, like I always could. But I do happen to be a nerdy clever clogs. So I haven't had this problem, in fact as I've got older I've found that I have more concentration and I'm thinking about more things at once, than I did as a child. So sorry don't get this. Maybe it won't happen to me until I'm over 70, if I get there. 😏
When I was growing up, I basically would see the whole page and my eyes would jump around all over... Took a lot of vision therapy to be able to read properly, and my eyes still try to jump around. Not the fastest reader now, I don't want to get slower DX
As a Chinese, the concept of visual crowding kind of explain why I can learn things faster in English even Chinese is my first language. Because there is no space between words in Chinese Maybe the same researches mentioned in this video should be done in subjects of none alphabetical languages to see if the result can be replicated.
I have noticed that in my 30s I skip entire sections because of unimportance. I used to be so methodical about reading everything. Now I’m trying to get to the true information.
@2:23 there's a huge oversimplification happening with people with experience, and that is that people with experience may have thoughts that go off on tangents much more frequently than readers who are still trying to fill in their vocabulary; and people over time will chose to be unchallenged by their own reading material -- a huge bias against Fox News, unfortunately - they like to make people's uninformed decisions for them, and give a republican reason for why. People who have been burned may look at statements with much more skepticism because of experience, so hesitation may be in the reading too, where doubt is literally making someone pause in their reading.
I'm 63. I'm NOT slowing down. You all are just going faster. Now stop it.
You sir are a f-ing legend.
Lmao
No way, It only took me 10 MIN to read your comment >:)
(Probably a record)
@@1Hawkears1 LOL!
And I have noticed they are allowing little kids drive nowadays! 🤪
"Researchers notice a decline in your reading abilities as early as your 40s."
Me, not even 30, noticing a decline: "o no."
Because you need reading glasses at 40 and are convinced you don’t need them yet that’s why you read slower sheesh people it’s the truth and sometimes the truth hurts but facts you can’t deny like this one
@@Hannahorse715 that's probably an oversimplification. In my case, I can't tell if there's a mental component or not right now as I started becoming significantly far-sighted about 6 years ago. My specific area of good focus even with correction is smaller as well. So, at the moment, my eyes ARE the bottleneck. Could change later, though.
@@Hannahorse715 but that maybe only applies to people that don't normally wear glasses. What about people that have had corrective eye surgery as a baby/infant and have had to wear glasses all their life. Personally I've found that text size and spacing between the lines helps the reading as I've had corrective eye surgery and now one eye is longsighted and the other is shortsighted.
@@worri3db3ar well I am kind of the same I have astigmatisum just astigmatisum and I have had it since 4th grade now 28 and I wear my glasses most of the time except for close up things I haven't needed reading glasses or bifocals yet but maybe by 40 I will who knows I doubt I will because of my astigmatisum
The pain is coming. I assumed it was because I was too ADD to read any article at length
Sci Show just increasing my anxiety about everything daily
Your anxiety is your responsibility.
@@DanielSMatthews it was a joke buddy
@@reallifepsych3309 Your sense of humour is your responsibility.
@@reallifepsych3309 I planned on making the same comment about increasing my anxiety. But it may not have been a joke from me though...
@@DanielSMatthews flip that on your own comment weirdo
I didn’t need to worry about this, thanks, I hate it
+
There are many things to worry about when you get older - reading speed is one of least concerning.
As I have gotten older, I have found that intrusive thoughts keeps me from being able to keep a focus reading. So, I started listening to audio books. While I miss the action of holding a book and marking it up like in college, listening has helped me to continue learning. The ability to adapt and find what works for you is so important to keep the mind active.
Oh, I'm worse with audio books a lot of the time. I feel like I'm just wasting time if I'm just sitting and listening to something so I tend to pair it with other activities that require less thought. The problem is I'm still much more easily distracted and I hate missing things so I end up rewinding and relistening to quite a bit
sorry it took a while to get in here, was trying to read the title
"Executive function gets a little worse" explains why ADHD symptoms become so strong in some people at that age given that it's a 'disorder' of the Executive Function.
As someone nearing 30 who's noticed the symptoms of their ADHD get worse in the last 5 years or so, this worries me. 😬
@@NathanButh my symptoms went ballistic when i turned 21(last year), so much that i couldn't ignore it and got diagnosed... maybe we're seeing the worst of it.
@@NathanButh If this is something that concerns you, do some research on the brain-gut connection. Learning how to bolster your microbiome through testing and diet can be of great benefit.
My significant other has been telling me for a year that he's pretty sure I have ADHD, which sucks for me with things like executive dysfunction since that's gotten worse over the past five years now that I'm approaching my 30s.
@@NathanButh My ADHD has gotten worse over the years, especially after I turned 40. I don't know if it has actually gotten worse, or my ability to control it has lessened. My advice is to start some sort of aerobic exercise (running, swimming, biking, tennis, etc.). It does help.
That little dance was the cutest thing.
Do it again.
Anecdotally, I didn't even become a big reader until like 22/23 or somewhere around there, and it only feels like I've gained a bit of speed over time, but the real gain is being able to read through a big book uninterrupted, instead of tiny chunks, seems to work better for me as I get older.
ofc, they left that part that if you just stay idle, why would you stop reading/exercising/practicing at such early age? Roflmao....
You can read alot faster in your 30s or 40s than you read at 18, but you need consistency and reading everyday
"starting in your 40s"
Me, a twenty-something already struggling to read as quickly as I used to: 😶
As a neuroscientist, I’m endlessly fascinated by how our cognitive abilities change over time. Maybe I should make a video on reading speeds. 🤔
Our brains are something we STILL don’t understand entirely and there’s a crazy amount we have yet to learn through experimentation. Love that we have videos breaking down the science on here. Thanks for the inspo!!!
Would love to see this!!
Audiobooks are the way to go! My eyes don't focus well when they get tired. Plus I love a good voice actor.
But audiobooks are so time consuming for me, I find it hard to focus on the actual book if I'm also trying to do something else, and then I might as well just read it myself at a faster pace than audiobooks go along, or I'd have to try and listen to it at 2x speed or something
@@BarbarianGod ya, I understand that. I will listen at 1.5 to 1.75 at times. I also listen in the car. Unless the voice actor and story are amazing. Then I'll sit down with some tea or coffee and absorb.
I do both simultaneously
@@BarbarianGod Most audiobook players let you increase speed as much as you want but keeps the pitch normal.
@@diyeana Yes! My eyes get tired and wander a lot when I read, but listening to excellent storytelling is more enjoyable.
There are so many methodological flaws with the study making them double their speed, I can't even list them all.
Of course, doubling the speed won't work.
Executive function gets WORSE?? ADHD people everywhere are doomed.
Me, literally barely functioning, just diagnosed with inattentive adhd at 27:
😐
I just find that I spend more time thinking about the ideas, situations, character motivations, plot devices, etc etc. Instead of just plowing thru written word, I like to savour it.
I’m already a slow reader so.... good luck to old me. 😂
i've heard if you suck the life force outa a librarian, it'll boost your reading speed by four. allegedly.
@@nveletkoslin33771 but if you're not careful the librarian can diminish your reading speed by eight.....
Even as a kid I was told I read way too slow. I envision everything I read. It takes a while to imagine an entire world!
@@Sk8rToon I’m not sure if anyone else does this. Sometimes my eyes will still be reading, but I’m trying to imagine the landscape and have to go back to find where I stopped paying attention. 😂
That’s all fairly depressing.
I love this presenter. Such a great voice and way of speaking and presenting content!
This Scishow really came for my jugular... 😭
I can read words as a whole even if the text is out of focus and when I am reading a novel I don't even see the page/ebook reader screen as I am fully immersed at the conscious level in a dream like state that is representing the narrative of the story. Even with more logical and procedural content I am visualising the meaning and not really conscious of the methods used to transmit it. This lead me to conclude that you can't easily generalise about how people read as they don't all process encoded visual information the same way regardless of age and cognitive fitness status.
I agree. Reading becomes like watching a movie.
He sounds like LeVar Burton and he's talking about reading. It's throwing me off.
🎶Butterflies in the sky... 🎶
But you don't have to take his word for it
The first time I heard him on here I wasn't watching the screen, I thought he WAS LeVar Burton!
I can confirm this. I used to be able to read 1000 page books in days. Now it can take me a month.
OMG WHAT
Me, literally only 20 “oh no I’m seeing the decline what if I’m reading slower”
In my experience everything slows down with aging. I am 71 years old and have had to watch these videos over the past 10 years at .75% speed; I just cannot absorb the words or information fast enough. Many other videos as well. When it became fashionable for young people to speak at New York City speed I could not make out all of what they said starting years ago. All my movements are slow; I have to make my mind lower its expectations of timing so I don't stumble or drop things or knock stuff over.
Who feels more energetic when they aged past their 20s? How much information do you have in your head from 10 years ago to today? You're prioritizing energy and mental capacity.
I started listening to audiobooks more than actually picking up a book or reading from my phone
that's one of the first signs of dementia :/
I use "Read Aloud" feature in Microsoft browser to help me read long article, it is less tedious. I can focus on the word better because... somehow it is less tedious to see and hear the word than actually reading the words. No idea why.
My reading speed has definitely slowed. I used to be able to slowly read a book over a few weeks, and now I don't read at all!! 😜
Honestly though, nice video. I definitely have issues with crowding, because I'd often have my eyes wander down the page to the next sentence or two before I finished reading the current sentence. Also, the phonological loop is a very cool concept!
Damn, I already read slowly, I just turn 40 yesterday, and now it's going to take me an hour just to read a menu. Damn aging.
I'm 66 and I still read fast. Some books read fastest or slower, it depends on the writing. Some books are lighter reading and quick, others have to be savored.
This makes me wonder if they controlled for interest level in the reading material given to people in the study(studies?) talked about in the video. That’s a very important point in my book reading speed too
@@FMFF_ Yes, interest level can certainly make a difference. I read for myself, so I'm going to read what appeals to me. That being said, I have read some books that were of interest, but the writing was too dry or insipid to be enjoyable. I have forced myself to finish some books like that because I wanted to know what happened. Otherwise, I check if there is a synopsis available. Unless it's for work or school, you are allowed to quit reading a book you're not enjoying! Isn't that wonderful! More time for better books!
I think it has more to do with how fast your brain can sort through information.
As you grow older, you accumulate more and more information. As you read, your brain tries to sift through your memories to see if it has encountered that information before. The more information it has to sort through, the slower it seems.
Interesting, my parents are plowing through books in their 50's
Older adults might be getting more distracted by other things on the page
People with ADHD: **chuckles** I'm in danger
crazy thing, my reading skills and speed have increased greatly as i get older. im thinking this only applies to people who dont read or those who have a hard time retaining knowledge.
Well time to read more books when im still young
I just OCR my ebooks and Cortana reads them to me. I follow along on the PDF.
As with most human traits this has to be the average of a distribution (probably a Gaussian one), not a one-size-fits-all. As someone who has been a perpetual student all their life, I find I read much faster now than I did in my 20s and 30s. For non-technical reading matter I can take in quarter pages of books with not much more than a glance which is something I couldn't do at all in my earlier years. Through the decades I have become more skilled at speed-reading, skimming, and browsing. Studying and learning has always been my raison d'etre and my brain seems to have developed to accommodate this. My point in writing this comment is that there is variation between people. Not all will slow down with age. So often when we hear of research in psychology we are presented with the average as though it is the universal case. It is not. As well as the mean there is standard deviation, and in a large sample there will be individuals far away from that centre point both above and below.
I used to read constantly when I was young, although not too fast because I was easily distracted, but I had a pretty good "phonological loop".
A car accident (brain injury) at 22 drastically reduced that Loop (among other things), and my reading speed got really bad.
By my late 30s I had basically given up reading. When I really try to read a book now, it takes weeks.
I have a huge selection of books I intend to get to someday, but realistically I never will because it's too big a chore. And I have kids now, the biggest distraction of them all.
I'm in my mid thirties and have noticed that I get lost easier in walls of text. I recently switched to the Open Dyslexic font on my devices and it's helped a lot.
Hey SciShow Psych, give us more Anthony! He's the best. And the little dance made me smile :-D
Oh no, I already read slow and I’m only 19. Guess I better find a new hobby
Well, it is not a race so you don't have to always read fast. When you're are older how much others things you're going to do, that you would need to read books faster? As a last resort there will always be audio books.
I always use to read slow as dirt but over time I have actually speed up my reading over the decades. Of course, any slower reading and I would still be on my first book. I also find listening to audio books at 1.25 speed while reading helps me make sure I keep my speed up even when not listening them while reading the same book.
Bah, I used to only read a novel a day, now I can read two!
Comics aren't considered novels! :)))
And understand 0
A dominos menu is not a novel
Practice helps a lot! Hope you enjoy whatever you’re reading
I'm always excited to hear new discovers about typical brain development. But after each video I'm left wondering "does this work different in a blind person?"
I'm visually impaired. Though I can clearly see large print, I still read it so very slowly. Sounds like that thing about peripheral anticipation of what's next may be a factor. With almost no peripheral vision, my brain can't prep for the upcoming words, thus reading is slowed. Then slower reading means poor reading comprehension. I wanted so bad to be an avid reader. At least there's audio books.
Have you tried comics/manga? Shonen Jump has an app that lets you read legal manga, first 3 charpters free and the 3 most recent too I believe... otherwise a small subscription fee/month. Last time I used it, they let you double tap a panel so it zooms in on each and will bring you to the next to read in order.
@@FMFF_ That's interesting. I love anime, but never read much manga because of the small print. This sounds good!
There was a longitudinal study on aging done in Florida. When the subjects died their brains were examined. One person's brain showed advanced signs of Alzheimer's, but there was no traditional manifestation during life. Different parts of the brains are affected by the plaques and tangles. Reading comprehension may be one of them I do know of one case that it seems that comprehension of conversatios is affected
I’m 26 and read super slowly. I was always the last in class to finish reading a page. But I did phonological loop tests and mine is over twice the average, so that’s not the problem.
I perform pretty well on these short and fun lab tests. ...Then, they gave me a long, boring sustained attention test. My performance crashed after 5 minutes. So you can add that to the reasons why one might read slowly. Attention.
I read wayyyy slower in my teens and 20s than I do now in my 30s, mainly becasue I sucked at reading and have got a lot better since.
Audio books are everything!
What techniques can I use to keep my reading speed constant? I'm sure reading frequently is one but you can not just drop this knowledge and provide no methods on how to fight it. That's just mean
I'm 30 now and I don't feel any cognitive slow down honestly I feel smarter then I ever have. But I do feel it in my body. Things like holding my balance are getting harder.
Font is also something I'd like to know about. Older people are probably used to times New Roman everywhere, whereas our generation gets helvetica everywhere.
It is called distraction. I get distracted during reading when I grow older because I constantly relate to daily things and what I can apply the new info to them. I am not completely out of focus but there are a lot more info to process all happen in realtime during reading operation.
I'm 24 now and I've definitely noticed some minor decline in my reading speed, but I think it's mostly a result of an increase in patience and conscientiousness as it seems to be directly correlated to better comprehension and retention.
What about sociological studies? Is the slowdown related to the training in reading? Are literates or scientists slowing down the same as carpenters or salesmen?
BTW, this would also "solve" the 20 vs 50 years old problem, as usually people in their 20s are more likely to have recently finished their studies (or are even continuing them).
It takes me days to finish reading a textbook chapter compared to 1-2 days from my peers and I'm only in my 20s. Good luck to older adult me.
Don't discourage me. I have just started learning a new language and in the phase where I'm practicing how to read characters. I'm still looking forward to speed up my reading skills.
Also, earlier before I have seen this video, I was searching online on how many hours can an average reader finish the whole 1Q84 and this is making me accept that I read slower than average.
Mine started at around my 30s. It freaks me out bc in my case it just declined my drive for reading. When i do read its usually short articles and i usually have to go back and re-read. Ive had to re-read all my life as I have ADHD and my attention span is not good so I guess my brain just doesnt want to deal with that anymore? Idk....i miss reading and having the energy for it.
I've always been more of a concept/global thinker. Memorization has always been hard.
Why do people read more slowly as they get older?
Why do people become more conservative as they grow older?
The answer is the same.
The life experiences we’ve accumulated give rise to a stronger conscience.
Stronger constraints on movement.
All behaviors. Including the behavior of which thoughts to think are more strongly constrained.
This is reflected in slower reading speed.
We simply process the information more deeply by relating it to our existing predictive model of the world looking for opportunities to improve it.
The brain is a sensory motor brain after all.
It evolved because it enabled organisms to respond to sensory experiences with superior moves in the world.
Continuously improving your ability to make superior moves in the world requires deeper contemplation of sensory experience.
When you are young, you don’t know anything. You need to accumulate experiences. After you have accumulated these experiences, and learned from them, the situation is very different. Now, through decades of experiences making mistakes you have forged a hard won predictive model of the world and you are more strongly inclined to avoid making mistakes which could be avoided by simply paying closer attention to your sensory experience.
You are now much more strongly inclined to compare new sensory experiences to existing predictive models. Why? Because you have learned through experience, that this is a rewarding behavior. This is how you improve your predictive model. By contrast, when you skip over information that could’ve been used to prevent mistakes you’ve made, you are punished with the pain of regret.
What you aim determines what you see. What do you focus on. What you filter out.
If you see slower reading speed, it’s probably because you have an aim that favors faster reading speed. For example, winning the zero sum game. Again, younger people have a less developed conscience than older people.
If you think speed is more important than contemplation, watch the cognitive trade off hypothesis video.
I'm struggling and I'm only 23... Maybe it's because my left temporal lobe got removed when I was 12.
Is there any way to help to keep processing speed and working memory active even in old age?
Do you have any old videos talking about these points related to dyslexia and ADHD? If so, could you link them? If not, would you address them. People keep asking me questions on how I do things with audio books and why reading visually isn't really useful. But I don't really know how to explain. I only know how I process information. Even though i know the points in encoding and decoding, I don't really understand how that works for neurotypical people. Its like trying to explaon friench without knowing English, or explaining sound to the deaf.
When I read, I integrate the new information I'm reading with the knowledge I've already gained previously. As I've gotten older, I have accumulated more knowledge with which I need to integrate any new information. Thus, it takes longer. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.
I'm naturally a fast reader, so this won't be a problem for me. I have noticed my reading speed slow down a little, but I also deliberately read a little bit slower than I need to, just to make sure I'm taking it all in.
Sir Terry Pratchett had the type of Alzheimer's where he struggled more with the written word than the spoken. For some reason I obviously don't understand he apparently could "write" his last few books better because of Speech recognition software. The genius we lost because of that illness makes me so angry, as well as for anyone suffering from it in any form. My great gran had it really bad for the last 5 or so years of her life and she became unrecognisable almost. Horrible.
Mental engagement takes energy and we have less as we age... were lazy and dont feel the need to focus and push for speed where as at 16 thats just normal...
To all those taking this literally,
Remember this:
You have a choice, either improve or get worse, a person who studies and reads daily (has it habit) will beat amy teenager or someone who is 15-20 of age, is just a fact, the more you read, the better you become at reading, simple.
So don't cry, do something. :)
I knew it! I used to read the longest novels in just one day. Now it takes so long I lose count of days.
And I'm only 34.
Beautiful. We only need.... Forty more years? I can wait.
But everything is not always black and white: Celtic Trinity-Knot (topology)
I like and really want that sweatshirt he's wearing
Oh my god I hate this, I already read very slowly in my 20s and trip over words all the time. It's always been like this. And you're telling me it's only gonna get worse? 😭
Ah, more good news when I'm about to put another candle on my birthday cake.
This makes sense
Is there actually any benefits to getting older? I don't mind the slow reading though.
If you retire with a lot of money, you don't have to work
I would say no. Once you hit 45 your body starts to fall apart.
That's why I make short comments. Who has that kinda time for proofreading?
What in Carl Sagan is up with the sweater!👍👍👍
Good to know. Ty
I just tell people "I am sorry, I just tuned you out...". But I was doing the when I was younger.
I'm a slow reader, always have been. I wonder how this will factor into me getting older.
😆 I'm 59 and I still can read a book in two days, like I always could. But I do happen to be a nerdy clever clogs. So I haven't had this problem, in fact as I've got older I've found that I have more concentration and I'm thinking about more things at once, than I did as a child. So sorry don't get this. Maybe it won't happen to me until I'm over 70, if I get there. 😏
When I was growing up, I basically would see the whole page and my eyes would jump around all over... Took a lot of vision therapy to be able to read properly, and my eyes still try to jump around. Not the fastest reader now, I don't want to get slower DX
You Read More Slowly As You Get Older - Here's Why ... We don't know, _but here are some guesses!_
As a Chinese, the concept of visual crowding kind of explain why I can learn things faster in English even Chinese is my first language. Because there is no space between words in Chinese
Maybe the same researches mentioned in this video should be done in subjects of none alphabetical languages to see if the result can be replicated.
Im in my 30s now and my reading is faster than ever. But i also have dyslexia so reading was very discouraging when i was younger
That's exactly what I experienced. I can also type so much faster and better than ever.
How does the amount by which reading slows depend on the writing system?
What do older people do faster than younger? Is there anything? At least anything beneficial?
goddamit i have even less time to read all the books turns out
I wonder if it has to do with how often we read comparative to when we were in school?
The older you get, the more info or patterns your brain compares it to, imo
And here I thought I was just out of practice
I never thought the right typeface, letter spacing, line spacing and column width could make you feel younger!
Study typography!
I used to read a book a day now I started to go to college now I stopped it. College sucks.
Maybe it's because they care more about details. Definitely true for me.
reading might be slower but I bet Imagination goes up
I have noticed that in my 30s I skip entire sections because of unimportance. I used to be so methodical about reading everything. Now I’m trying to get to the true information.
"There was time now!"
Luckily I’m pretty sure people can fix all of those reasons in one way or another.
I’m 25 and i’ve switched to audiobooks, i don’t have time for physical reading anymore
@2:23 there's a huge oversimplification happening with people with experience, and that is that people with experience may have thoughts that go off on tangents much more frequently than readers who are still trying to fill in their vocabulary; and people over time will chose to be unchallenged by their own reading material -- a huge bias against Fox News, unfortunately - they like to make people's uninformed decisions for them, and give a republican reason for why.
People who have been burned may look at statements with much more skepticism because of experience, so hesitation may be in the reading too, where doubt is literally making someone pause in their reading.
I’m screwed seeing as I have reading and writing disabilities.
It won't be necessary as u get older
I'm already a slow reader I'm so screwed...
F
Science in Corona times...
Title: "here's why".
Answer: "we're not totally sure"