10
Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day
When
was the last time you read a book, or a substantial magazine article? Do your
daily reading habits center around tweets, Facebook updates, or the directions
on your instant oatmeal packet? If you’re one of countless people who don’t
make a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing out: reading has a
significant number of benefits, and just a few benefits of reading are listed
below.
1. Mental
Stimulation
Studies
have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow
the progress of (or possibly even prevent)
Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents
it from losing power. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain
requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose
it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing
puzzles and playing games such as
chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation.
2. Stress
Reduction
No
matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships,
or countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you
lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can transport you to other
realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present
moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax.
3.
Knowledge
Everything
you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when
it might come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you
are to tackle any challenge you’ll ever face.
Additionally,
here’s a bit of food for thought: should you ever find yourself in dire
circumstances, remember that although you might lose everything else—your job,
your possessions, your money, even your health—knowledge can never be taken
from you.
4.
Vocabulary Expansion
This
goes with the above topic: the more you read, the more words you gain exposure
to, and they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday
vocabulary. Being articulate and well-spoken is of great help in any
profession, and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence
can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem. It could even aid in your career,
as those who are well-read, well-spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of
topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often) than those with
smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific
breakthroughs, and global events.
Reading
books is also vital for learning new
languages, as non-native speakers gain exposure to
words used in context, which will ameliorate their own speaking and writing
fluency.
5. Memory
Improvement
When
you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their
backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and
sub-plots that weave their way through every story. That’s a fair bit to
remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with
relative ease. Amazingly enough, every
new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways)and strengthens existing ones, which assists in
short-term memory recall as well as stabilizing moods. How cool is
that?
6. Stronger
Analytical Thinking Skills
Have
you ever read an amazing mystery novel, and solved the mystery yourself before
finishing the book? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical
thinking to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them
out to determine “whodunnit”.
That
same ability to analyze details also comes in handy when it comes to critiquing
the plot; determining whether it was a well-written piece, if the characters
were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever
have an opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state
your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the
aspects involved.
7.
Improved Focus and Concentration
In
our internet-crazed world, attention is drawn in a million different directions
at once as we multi-task through every day. In a single 5-minute span, the
average person will divide their time between working on a task, checking
email, chatting with a couple of people (via gchat, skype, etc.), keeping an
eye on twitter, monitoring their smartphone, and interacting with co-workers.
This type of ADD-like behaviour causes stress levels to rise, and lowers
our productivity.
When
you read a book, all of your attention is focused on the story—the rest of the
world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine detail you’re
absorbing. Try reading for 15-20 minutes before work (i.e. on your morning
commute, if you take public transit), and you’ll be surprised at how much more
focused you are once you get to the office.
8. Better
Writing Skills
This
goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary: exposure to published,
well-written work has a noted effect on one’s own writing, as observing the
cadence, fluidity, and writing styles of other authors will invariably
influence your own work. In the same way that musicians influence one another, and
painters use techniques established by previous masters, so do writers learn
how to craft prose by reading the works of others.
9.
Tranquility
In
addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible
that the subject you read about can bring about immense inner peace and
tranquility. Reading spiritual
texts can lower blood pressure and bring
about an immense sense of calm, while reading
self-help books has been shown to help people suffering from
certain mood
disorders and mild mental illnesses.
10. Free
Entertainment
Though
many of us like to buy books so we can annotate them and dog-ear pages for
future reference, they can be quite pricey. For low-budget entertainment, you
can visit your local
library and bask in the glory of the countless tomes
available there for free. Libraries have books on every subject imaginable, and
since they rotate their stock and constantly get new books, you’ll never run
out of reading materials.
If
you happen to live in an area that doesn’t have a local library, or if you’re
mobility-impaired and can’t get to one easily, most libraries have their books
available in PDF or ePub format so you can read them on your e-reader, iPad, or
your computer screen. There are also many sources online where
you can download free
e-books, so go hunting for something new to read!
There’s
a reading genre for every literate person on the planet, and whether your
tastes lie in classical literature, poetry, fashion magazines, biographies,
religious texts, young adult books, self-help guides, street lit, or romance
novels, there’s something out there to capture your curiosity and imagination.
Step away from your computer for a little while, crack open a book, and
replenish your soul for a little while.
Lana Winter-Hébert
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-everyday.html
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