Standing stone at Avebury UK
10 Benefits of
Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day
Lana Winter-Hébert
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. Tranquillity
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.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-everyday.html
Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read
fast>>>Remember more>>>Years later
Contact
M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com
You can TCR software
and engineering manuals for spontaneously recall –
or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
How
to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?
Perhaps
you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives many ways for you to work with the
stresses of life
www.ourbusinessminds.blogspot.com
development, growth, management. www.mreenhunthappyartaccidents.blogspot.com
just for fun.
To
quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will
know.
The
more that you learn; the more places you'll go.
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