Reading Romance Books Lowered My Stress Levels—and Science Backs Me Up: ‘There’s Nothing Like the Dopamine Hit’

Here’s a confession: I used to be a book “snob,” someone who subsisted on a steady diet of so-called serious literature, the kind that was labor-intensive to digest. (See: Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.) But my palate has changed. And now I understand just how serious and important contemporary romance novels are. As an award-winning health journalist with decades of experience, I can confirm that reading romance novels is good for your health. I conducted exhaustive research over the last few years—reading about 125 novels annually. Here’s what my delightfully fun, often spicy work revealed, and how it can help you too.

Why you can trust me in matters of the heart

As a health writer, I’m deeply committed to wellness, spending my days interviewing doctors and poring over clinical research studies on everything from heart disease to “sex as exercise.” I’m also the captain of team love. (I asked out my husband on our first date years ago and never looked back.) And in my free time, I’ve written two romance novels. (Literary agents, hit me up!) In fact, now is a great time to try writing romance too since November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Why am I such a superfan of this genre? I can’t deny the feel-good benefits people get from adding romance books to their life.

I’m just one case study, but there are millions of women like me. There’s a reason why romance books are wildly popular right now—accounting for about 25 percent of all books sold, and a 24 percent increase in sales in recent years, according to Booketic. They make people feel good. So consider this your invitation to biohack your health with bestsellers.

7 ways reading romance books can improve your health and life

Reddit users love to play the game “Everything I need to know, I learned from romance novels.” But consider the following collection of very real health perks to be my love letter to romance books. And don’t miss a 5-star list of my favorite romance book recommendations at the end.

Reading romance regulates your nervous system

Real life is hectic right now. My nervous system can’t stomach a stressful suspense thriller. Reading contemporary romance, however, helps calm the nervous system. One reason: The genre requires a guaranteed happy ending, which fans call a “happily ever after” (HEA) or a “happy for now” (HFN). That comforting conclusion helps keep stress hormones down during this down-time activity.

This genre also takes extraordinary care of its readers’ well-being, often providing a disclaimer for possible trigger warnings—for example brief mentions of cancer—at the start of many stories. Author Jillian Meadows says, “If any of these topics are difficult to read about, please protect your heart.”

Reading romance boosts mood

While attending the Love Y’All Romance Book Festival in Atlanta I met a woman who started reading romance novels after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She found the stories boosted her mood. She told me, “There is nothing like the dopamine hit from reading romance.” She’s right. These stories can give you a rush of feel-good hormones, similar to those of falling in love. And brain-scan research proves that the body often can’t tell the difference between physically experiencing something and simply thinking about it.

Sameena Rahman, MD, founder of GYN & Sexual Medicine Collective, says, “I think we underestimate the importance of pleasure and imagination in women’s overall health. Women spend so much of their lives taking care of everyone else that we often forget how important it is to make room for our own enjoyment and allow women to explore desire in a private, pressure-free environment.” Consider it a reading Rx!

Reading romance provides sex education

As a nutrition writer, I’ve covered a lot of culinary spice content, but romance books bring a whole new meaning to hot chili peppers! Spicy books like those from Ali Hazelwood provide information that women can apply to their own sex lives. A retired magazine executive explained it to me this way, “My experience at Cosmo raised my awareness of how much young women want service related to sexual technique. Romance and romantasy are now filling the gap that Cosmo used to: teaching young women how to flirt, how to court, specific sexual moves.”

Spicy stories may also stoke natural desire. Dr. Rahman says, “As a sexual medicine specialist, I often remind women that our brain is one of our most important sexual organs.” She says experts in the sex-med space have taken note of popular romance book trends like Off Campus and Heated Rivalry as tools that can help patients. (If you need me, I’ll be at the cottage…)

Reading romance normalizes healthy relationships

I’m a happily married gal, but I can recognize that a big part of this genre is about ideal relationship situations. These stories map out conversations about obtaining enthusiastic consent, plus inquiring about STIs, birth control, kinks and protection. By making these moments normal parts of the story, they empower women to expect high standards for their own healthy relationships, which improves safety and health for everyone involved. Is it a coincidence that some women are reporting a “horny menopause” at the same time that romance books rise in popularity? You be the judge. Footnote: My partner fully approves of my romance reading habit. (Wink!)

Audiobooks can help you move more

Several women told me that getting lost in a good audiobook has allowed them to exercise more at the gym or walk further in their neighborhoods to help improve their body composition. Case in point: Brianna Baker lost 100 pounds while hiking and listening to romance novels. Her go-to book series: Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Can reading romance novels improve heart health?

“Reducing stress has profound benefits on your heart health,” says Dr. Rahman, but she doesn’t want to overpromise here. “An exciting romantic scene might make your heart race, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting a cardiovascular workout.” That said, she adds, “Chronic stress can contribute to cardiovascular risk. So where reading may offer a benefit is through stress reduction and relaxation.” She explains, “We don’t have evidence that reading romance novels directly prevents heart disease. But if reading helps a woman unwind and sleep better, those are meaningful benefits for her overall health.”

Why romance books are good for all of us

Plot twist: Romance books don’t just make us healthier individuals, they can make the world healthier and kinder as a whole. Bestselling romance author Katherine Center has been known to inscribe books with notes like: “Love is good for you” … “When we read love stories, we get to see kindness in action.” … “Love stories show us people getting better at love in real time.”

And I totally agree. As the mom to three boys, I’ve metabolized hundreds of superhero stories. But you know what’s more universal than saving the world? Finding people who make you feel safe and loved. As Center told her social media followers, “If stories about humanity at its worst are the only stories we tell, then those are the only stories we have.”

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So grab a romance book and see how it can transform your heart, your health and your community.

Lisa’s favorite romance books to read right now

Here’s a list of 15 of my favorite recent contemporary romance books you can start reading today, because you deserve to live happily ever after too.

• Book Lovers by Emily Henry
• Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
• Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
• The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
• No Matter What by Cara Bastone
• First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer
• Bad Words by Ríoghnach Robinson
• Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar
• Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
• You, With a View by Jessica Joyce
• Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows
• Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens
• Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Rebound by Leeanne Slade

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