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
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.
.
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.
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