What Makes Dickens a Lousy Running Buddy?

The Wall Street Journal:

While it’s true that a Stephen King book can make hearts race, churning through “The Shining” generally doesn’t qualify as a cardiovascular workout. Not in print, anyway.

So what about listening to an audiobook version of the horror classic during a run? Joe Flood, for one, says the spoken word imbues him with an inexplicable desire to keep going.

…

Some scientists are leaning into the idea that running and reading don’t necessarily mix well. “When you do two things at once there is always a cost,” says Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia who researches the impact of multi-taking on the brain. Though the runner may not realize it consciously, his or her mind constantly switches back and forth between the two tasks—a ping-pong effect that might even be hazardous to a runner’s health.

Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal

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