Whenever she gets questions from others struggling with their faith, the first thing Deseret News contributor Amanda Freebairn says is, “Read!”
While faith-related podcasts and social media can help, “reading keeps your limbic system calm and allows you to engage gospel topics with more depth and thoughtfulness,” she said.
As global reading rates collapse, the consequences are motivating action. Catholic writer Matthew Walther realized that without curbing his online scrolling, he would soon lose one of his “greatest pleasures to sheer indolence” — the deep reading previous generations experienced as a singular escape.
“I have never known any distress that an hour’s reading did not relieve,” French intellectual Montesquieu famously said. Yet today, the average American spends seven hours a day starting at screens (nine for Gen Z) — putting young people on track to scroll away 25 waking years.
Trading reading for screens harms our minds, families, and democracy. More starkly, the reading recession threatens humanity’s connection to the divine, as previously reported.
Reading as a countercultural act
In a 2026 New York Times commentary, Georgetown scientist Cal Newport wrote, “I’m done ceding my brain — the core of all that makes me who I am — to the financial interests of a small number of technology billionaires or the shortsighted conveniences of hyperactive communication styles.
“It’s time to move past fretting about our slide into the cognitive shallows and decide to actually do something about it.”
The Deseret News has gathered key recommendations from experts in digital distraction, literacy and “cognitive patience” on what it takes for compromised attention spans to read deeply again — and reclaim the cognitive, emotional, and spiritual benefits.
7 ways to rediscover the joy of reading
1. Approach reading like a workout, not a chore
Reading is like “cardio for our ailing brains,” Newport argued, suggesting that “consuming a few dozen book pages a day should become the new 10,000 daily steps — a basic foundation of activity to maintain cognitive fitness.”
But rather than seeing reading as some kind of a duty like eating Brussels sprouts, Baylor scholar Alan Jacobs entreats people to rediscover “The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction.”
UCLA neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf described her own surprise in discovering that she could no longer muster the patience to read one of her favorite novels. Long exposure to rapid-fire digital feeds, she concluded, had trained her brain’s “skimming reflex” in a way that undercut the mental stamina required to sit with a written text.
Wolf and others now advocate “attention rehabilitation” to strengthen cognitive patience and awaken the brain’s “deep reading circuit.”
Here’s what that looks like in practice: pick a challenging text, ideally in a physical format (not on a tablet or phone) and set a certain number of minutes to read daily. When an impulse comes to skim or check a screen, gently bring your attention back to the sentence … over and over again.
2. Read lighter until you can read deeper
For people out of practice with reading, Pepperdine scholar Jessica Hooten Wilson suggests beginning the same way people get back into exercise: “Just start small.”
“Start reading things that you remember enjoying,” she told Deseret News — “maybe even a book you’ve already read before that reminds you of why you like this.”
Once you begin to regain a habit of grabbing a book on your downtime, you can eventually increase the page amount or substance of the text.
3. Warm up and cool down the brain
We expect too much of the brain, according to experts, when we shift quickly from texting to Tolstoy or short-form videos into scriptures. Much like an athlete wouldn’t launch into a sprint without a warmup, it can help to take a few minutes for a brain warmup (or cool down) through low-stimulation activity like connecting with others or touching grass.
Grounding moments like this can shift dopamine levels lower, making a book not feel so “boring.” Over time, Wolf suggests, people can also develop a “biliterate reading brain” capable of shifting mental gears between online and offline reading — skillfully toggling between fast and slow processing.
When reading emails or news updates, this means you can give your brain permission to skim. But when pivoting to a book or essay, tell yourself: “It’s time to go deeper.”
“The uncharacteristic slowness and focus” of reading “can feel challenging,” admitted Wilson, author of “Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice.”
“But what you have to do is say, ‘Yes, I’m going to give myself to this.’”
4. Read physical books, pen in hand
In her 2015 book, “Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World,” linguist Naomi Baron argued that screens “coax us” away from deeper exploration. That’s why whenever something requires more sustained thought, she recommends choosing physical print — which triggers higher concentration, according to brain scientists. The tactile act of turning a page or seeing an organized layout also helps readers remember what they read by anchoring it in space.
Having a pen or pencil in hand can further enhance this effect, nudging the brain out of passive consumption mode as you write questions in the margins, underline sentences that stand out or argue with the author.
Other elements of an “attention sanctuary” — a particular chair, corner, blanket or time of day — can likewise help the brain create an almost Pavlovian connection to physical conditions: “When I sit here, it’s time to focus.”
5. Reclaim your mornings
Walther encourages people to “open a book within an hour of waking up in the morning,” directly subverting what Newport calls the “constant companion” model of phone use “in our hands, as soon as we wake, and (commanding) our attention until the final moments before we fall asleep.”
What many don’t realize, Arthur Brooks cautions, is how phone-first mornings are “neurocognitively programming your brain for the whole day.”
The first job of a Christian, C.S. Lewis taught, comes first thing in the morning in “shoving” back all the “wishes and hopes for the day (that) rush at you like wild animals” — enough to let “that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”
As the day unfolds, Newport suggests finding landing spots for the phone that are “out of reach” — for instance, charging in the kitchen. For those inclined to always keep a phone close at hand, on the couch or on the dinner table, be aware that a 2023 experiment found that “the mere presence of a smartphone results in lower cognitive performance.”
6. Use social media to communicate — not numb
Given how clearly cognitive deficits follow the consumption of short-form video content dominating virtually every social media platform, Newport recommended comparing this highly-edited content to ultra-processed fast foods that likewise trigger dopamine spikes in the brain.
“What is a TikTok video if not a digital Dorito?” he asked. “Most people should avoid these diversions most of the time,” in much “the same way that you’re unlikely to eat Twinkies as a regular snack.”
“The metaphorical nutritional value of scrolling through outrage-tinged posts and short-form videos is minimal,” the scientist insisted. “Their sugar-high benefits aren’t worth the costs.”
7. Always keep a book with you
“Almost no one thinks twice about the purported wisdom of never leaving the house without a mobile phone,” Walther wrote. For those looking to find a little more time for reading, “it should go without saying that one must never go anywhere without bringing a book.”
Lunch is an especially good time to read 10 or 15 pages, he suggested — even better if you can do it on a walk. “It could even be argued that certain books demand to be read outdoors,” the Catholic writer said.
“The almost total disappearance of airplane reading is a national tragedy,” Walther added, noting, “You will not regret your missed opportunity to catch an hour and a half of some action movie sequel.”