7 Fantastic Reasons Why You Should Start Reading Books

Reading is something that everyone should do, at least a few times a week. Some people may have a hard time staying engaged while reading and will prefer listening to audiobooks, and while we mostly focus on reading in a traditional sense, many of the positive effects we mention will also apply to audiobook listeners.

When most people think of reading, they remember perusing textbooks drier than the Sahara Desert during their school years, attempting to memorize information that didn't interest them. This experience can be enough to turn someone off reading for the rest of their lives.

A study by Literacy Inc showed that nearly one-third of US citizens never read another book after graduating high school. For others, however, reading is an enjoyable pastime.

The benefits of reading will aid in your overall wellbeing and we've listed seven of them below: 

Reading Helps Alleviate Stress

After a long day's work, cozying up in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea or hot chocolate and getting lost in a good book can be rewarding. It can take you away from the stresses of every day life and whisk away to a new world. When you read, your heart rate and blood pressure drop, and your body falls into a meditative state.

There is no need for social media apps when you are off battling dragons, sailing the open seas, being swept off your feet by the love of your life, or stepping into a brilliant thinker's mind.

Reading can reduce stress by up to 68% and can be a more effective way to relax than other passive activities like watching TV. Keeping a book on your nightstand or on a table beside your favourite chair can be a great way to start reading daily.

Reading Can Inspire You 

Books can provide you with the motivation you need to begin taking steps to improve your life. They can encourage you to try a new hobby, develop skills, or even help you understand concepts you may be having trouble wrapping your head around. You may see things from a different perspective or discover new details you may not have previously known.

They don't have to come from non-fiction books. Reading a fantasy or sci-fi book can inspire you to draw, paint, or sketch the characters in the book. You may want to crate a costume and cosplay as your favourite character. Maybe you enjoy writing and you create backstories for the characters or put them in your Sims games. Inspiration can come from anywhere.

Reading Helps You Develop New Ways Of Thinking

Between the pages of a book lie years of research and painstakingly curated ideas that the author has carefully put into words and bound into something that you can hold in your hands. 

Ideas that took the writers years to develop and compile can be consumed at your own pace whenever and wherever you'd like, giving you new information, new ways of thinking, and answers to questions that keep you up at night.

When you share these ideas with others you can grow closer and build stronger relationships. Perhaps you can teach someone else a thing or two that you learned from a book. Knowledge is meant to be shared.

Did you know there are four different methods of reading? Each method helps you discover new information and find what you are looking for quickly. Read all about them in our article 4 Effective Methods Of Reading.

Reading Helps You Develop A Larger Vocabulary 

As you read, you will come across words you may have never seen before. Learning, understanding, and using these words in your daily conversations are great ways to not only broaden your vocabulary but also to appear more sophisticated and intelligent to other people. Be sure to use the words in their proper contexts, or you may come across as less intelligent.

If you begin reading at a younger age, you will have an easier time remembering and using new words in your daily conversations. A study by Hammill Institute found that if you start reading at a younger age, both your reading comprehension and vocabulary development increases faster than those who don't read as often at a younger age.

 
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body"
                                                                       
                                                                           – Joseph Addison

Reading Trains Your Brain

The brain is truly the most important organ in the human body. Weighing in only 3 pounds, the brain is an incredibly complex collection of neural pathways (over one hundred billion neurons!) that controls all of your movements, thoughts, and senses.

When it comes to brain function, the catchy statement "if you don't use it, you lose it" holds true. Our brains deteriorate as we age. It is a sad reality, but we can slow our cognitive decline: through reading and activities that require thought and focus, like chess or crosswords, we can work our brains like we would our muscles at the gym. Daily brain training through reading can increase memory over time.

Reading Improves Your Memory 

While you read, your brain is working harder than you may think. It is connecting plots and characters, putting ideas together, and making sense of the words on the page to create a mental picture. Think of it like a gym for your brain. Each paragraph you read and page you turn helps keep your brain active and stimulated.

Even if you haven't read the book for a while (or re-read it a few years later), you will remember certain details you may have thought you forgot. Not only does it help with reading books, but it also helps when you have to read other things such as work-related documents or the lawyer-speak jargon involved in buying a house or filling out health benefit forms.

Reading Also Helps Improve Focus 

Reading for even 15 minutes a day can help strengthen your ability to focus. Some researchers suggest that reading fiction can improve cognitive abilities. Being able to focus on a task requires training and being able to eliminate distractions. 

Time magazine wrote an article on how the average human can only focus for around 8 seconds. Reading daily will improve your focus.

Summary

While we only listed a handful of benefits that reading has, there are many more. Taking even 15 minutes a day to sit down with a book will reward you in health benefits. Keep a book with you in your bag, or an e-book or audiobook downloaded to your phone, for moments when you are waiting for a bus, stuck at the airport, or have downtime between classes.

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