10BenefitsofReading:WhyYouShould

ReadEveryDay
LeisureLifestylebyLanaWinterHbert
Whenwasthelasttimeyoureadabook,orasubstantialmagazinearticle?Doyourdailyreadinghabits
centeraroundtweets,Facebookupdates,orthedirectionsonyourinstantoatmealpacket?Ifyoureoneof
countlesspeoplewhodontmakeahabitofreadingregularly,youmightbemissingout:readinghasa
significantnumberofbenefits,andjustafewbenefitsofreadingarelistedbelow.

1. Mental Stimulation
Studieshaveshownthatstayingmentallystimulatedcanslowtheprogressof(orpossiblyevenprevent)
AlzheimersandDementia,sincekeepingyourbrainactiveandengagedpreventsitfromlosingpower.Just
likeanyothermuscleinthebody,thebrainrequiresexercisetokeepitstrongandhealthy,sothephrase
useitorloseitisparticularlyaptwhenitcomestoyourmind.Doingpuzzlesandplayinggamessuchas
chesshavealsobeenfoundtobehelpfulwithcognitivestimulation.

2. Stress Reduction
Nomatterhowmuchstressyouhaveatwork,inyourpersonalrelationships,orcountlessotherissuesfaced
indailylife,italljustslipsawaywhenyouloseyourselfinagreatstory.Awellwrittennovelcantransport
youtootherrealms,whileanengagingarticlewilldistractyouandkeepyouinthepresentmoment,letting
tensionsdrainawayandallowingyoutorelax.

3. Knowledge
Everythingyoureadfillsyourheadwithnewbitsofinformation,andyouneverknowwhenitmightcome
inhandy.Themoreknowledgeyouhave,thebetterequippedyouaretotackleanychallengeyoullever
face.
Additionally,heresabitoffoodforthought:shouldyoueverfindyourselfindirecircumstances,
rememberthatalthoughyoumightloseeverythingelseyourjob,yourpossessions,yourmoney,even
yourhealthknowledgecanneverbetakenfromyou.

4. Vocabulary Expansion
Thisgoeswiththeabovetopic:themoreyouread,themorewordsyougainexposureto,andtheyll
inevitablymaketheirwayintoyoureverydayvocabulary.Beingarticulateandwellspokenisofgreathelp
inanyprofession,andknowingthatyoucanspeaktohigherupswithselfconfidencecanbeanenormous
boosttoyourselfesteem.Itcouldevenaidinyourcareer,asthosewhoarewellread,wellspoken,and
knowledgeableonavarietyoftopicstendtogetpromotionsmorequickly(andmoreoften)thanthosewith
smallervocabulariesandlackofawarenessofliterature,scientificbreakthroughs,andglobalevents.
Readingbooksisalsovitalforlearningnewlanguages,asnonnativespeakersgainexposuretowordsused
incontext,whichwillamelioratetheirownspeakingandwritingfluency.

5. Memory Improvement
Whenyoureadabook,youhavetorememberanassortmentofcharacters,theirbackgrounds,ambitions,
history,andnuances,aswellasthevariousarcsandsubplotsthatweavetheirwaythrougheverystory.
Thatsafairbittoremember,butbrainsaremarvellousthingsandcanrememberthesethingswithrelative

ease.Amazinglyenough,everynewmemoryyoucreateforgesnewsynapses(brainpathways)and
strengthensexistingones,whichassistsinshorttermmemoryrecallaswellasstabilizingmoods.How
coolisthat?

6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills

Haveyoueverreadanamazingmysterynovel,andsolvedthemysteryyourselfbeforefinishingthebook?
Ifso,youwereabletoputcriticalandanalyticalthinkingtoworkbytakingnoteofallthedetailsprovided
andsortingthemouttodeterminewhodunnit.
Thatsameabilitytoanalyzedetailsalsocomesinhandywhenitcomestocritiquingtheplot;determining
whetheritwasawellwrittenpiece,ifthecharacterswereproperlydeveloped,ifthestorylineransmoothly,
etc.Shouldyoueverhaveanopportunitytodiscussthebookwithothers,youllbeabletostateyour
opinionsclearly,asyouvetakenthetimetoreallyconsideralltheaspectsinvolved.

7. Improved Focus and Concentration

Inourinternetcrazedworld,attentionisdrawninamilliondifferentdirectionsatonceaswemultitask
througheveryday.Inasingle5minutespan,theaveragepersonwilldividetheirtimebetweenworkingon
atask,checkingemail,chattingwithacoupleofpeople(viagchat,skype,etc.),keepinganeyeontwitter,
monitoringtheirsmartphone,andinteractingwithcoworkers.ThistypeofADDlikebehaviourcauses
stresslevelstorise,andlowersourproductivity.
Whenyoureadabook,allofyourattentionisfocusedonthestorytherestoftheworldjustfallsaway,
andyoucanimmerseyourselfineveryfinedetailyoureabsorbing.Tryreadingfor1520minutesbefore
work(i.e.onyourmorningcommute,ifyoutakepublictransit),andyoullbesurprisedathowmuchmore
focusedyouareonceyougettotheoffice.

8. Better Writing Skills

Thisgoeshandinhandwiththeexpansionofyourvocabulary:exposuretopublished,wellwrittenwork
hasanotedeffectononesownwriting,asobservingthecadence,fluidity,andwritingstylesofother
authorswillinvariablyinfluenceyourownwork.Inthesamewaythatmusiciansinfluenceoneanother,
andpaintersusetechniquesestablishedbypreviousmasters,sodowriterslearnhowtocraftproseby
readingtheworksofothers.

9. Tranquility
Inadditiontotherelaxationthataccompaniesreadingagoodbook,itspossiblethatthesubjectyouread
aboutcanbringaboutimmenseinnerpeaceandtranquility.Readingspiritualtextscanlowerblood
pressureandbringaboutanimmensesenseofcalm,whilereadingselfhelpbookshasbeenshowntohelp
peoplesufferingfromcertainmooddisordersandmildmentalillnesses.

10. Free Entertainment

Thoughmanyofusliketobuybookssowecanannotatethemanddogearpagesforfuturereference,they
canbequitepricey.Forlowbudgetentertainment,youcanvisityourlocallibraryandbaskinthegloryof
thecountlesstomesavailablethereforfree.Librarieshavebooksoneverysubjectimaginable,andsince
theyrotatetheirstockandconstantlygetnewbooks,youllneverrunoutofreadingmaterials.
Ifyouhappentoliveinanareathatdoesnthavealocallibrary,orifyouremobilityimpairedandcant
gettooneeasily,mostlibrarieshavetheirbooksavailableinPDForePubformatsoyoucanreadthemon
yourereader,iPad,oryourcomputerscreen.Therearealsomanysourcesonlinewhereyoucandownload
freeebooks,sogohuntingforsomethingnewtoread!

Theresareadinggenreforeveryliteratepersonontheplanet,andwhetheryourtasteslieinclassical
literature,poetry,fashionmagazines,biographies,religioustexts,youngadultbooks,selfhelpguides,
streetlit,orromancenovels,theressomethingouttheretocaptureyourcuriosityandimagination.Step
awayfromyourcomputerforalittlewhile,crackopenabook,andreplenishyoursoulforalittlewhile.