Some avid readers dismiss audiobooks, saying they are just not as good as the real deal (and they mean the proper, paper kind).

But to our brains, there is little difference, says Discover magazine.

“In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley scanned the brains of nine participants while they read and listened… Looking at the brain scans, the researchers saw that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium.”

Psychology Today also points out the many ways listening to novels and non-fiction can help us to become not only better read, but also improve our mental health too. If you are prone to anxiety or depression it can be hard to focus enough to read. But listening to someone else read aloud can help replace your daily worries and negative thoughts with something else. As an extra boost to your mental health, you can take your audiobook with you on a walk.

Another bonus of audiobooks? They help relax your overworked eyes and take you off screens. Too long spent looking at screens can lead to eyestrain and long-term vision problems like myopia. Ditch the screen at the end of the day and curl up with an audiobook instead.