Have you ever wondered why our parents used to tell us to read every single day when we were young? From reading bedtime stories to bringing us to the local public library or bookshop on the weekends, they spend their time educating us on developing our reading skills. Can something so easy and fun as reading be so helpful in your life?
Of course, it can!
Reading is not only for enjoyment or for enhancing knowledge. Here are more benefits you can gain by flipping the pages of a book.
1. Reading reduces stress
Feeling stressed out because of work or school throughout the day? Fret not! Reading aids in reducing the stress level in the body. A study conducted by the University of Sussex in 2009 found out that reading can reduce almost 68% of stress levels on a human body. When a person reads a book, he or she will pay close attention to the written words, alleviating the mind from the anxiety and pressures of the day. While reading, the reader is immediately transported to a different world with different settings and people. The change in pace can be a breath of fresh air for those who are stressed or experiencing longer periods of stress. Furthermore, reading is also known to slow down the heart rate and relax muscles. These good side effects are pretty similar to yoga and meditation.
2. Prepares for a good night’s rest
Have you tried reading before bed? Most of our children tend to fall asleep after listening to their parents reading bedtime stories. It is said that reading 20 minutes or more before sleeping prepares the brain for quality sleep. This is because reading puts us into a state of relaxation as it takes our mind off the worries of tomorrow. Reading bedtime stories is not exclusive to just kids! Reading childrens’ books is a pleasant escape for some.
In this technological era, we often see us scrolling our smartphones at night before bed to check on our social media or current news. However, the consequences of doing so are pretty bad. The reason for this is that scrolling social media, especially before bed will stimulate our minds to be active, awake, and sleep-deprived. One can also experience insomnia due to blue light emission from the smartphone. Research conducted by the American Physiological Society in 2011 has found a correlation between the suppressed level of melatonin and exposure to blue light. When the melatonin level (a hormone that controls our sleep-wake cycle) drops, we might encounter tiredness and irritability during the day. So, instead of scrolling social media at night, we can try reading a few pages of our favourite book (it can be any genre!) until we fall asleep.
3. Reduces symptoms of depression
Reading boosts a person’s serotonin level in the brain. Researchers assumed that an imbalance in serotonin levels might influence a person’s mood in a way that leads to depression. While reading a book helps temporarily forget the banality of daily life, the activity also aids in providing a friend through fictional characters when in need. Some people found reading as a way to transcribe the messiness in mind and describe it as the great escapade. This is because reading makes a person be immersed in the intrigue which, later, forgets the solitude felt by a person. As to how Ernest Hemingway believed that “There is no friend as loyal as a book”, books can be our best friends too!
Reading self-help books helps us realize that we’re not alone in this journey. However, please bear in mind that reading only assists in reducing the symptoms of depression, and does not cure the illness completely.
4. Helps you become more emphatic
Would the world be a better place if more people read? The answer is an absolute yes! Researchers proved that reading fictional books helps a person learn different perspectives of seeing the world and relating the situations in the story with real-life circumstances. As empathy is known as an emotion that every human being should hold onto, people who read found out to be more empathetic as they got to learn about many types of personalities through the inner voices of multiple fictional characters.
According to Keith Oatley, a novelist and professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, literary fiction is primarily an exploration of the human experience. Reading this will surely encourage a person to understand someone’s opinion or view better. So, if we tend to feel for the fictional characters, we will be able to do the same for the real-life person as well!
5. Improvement of Memory
Reading helps the brain to work harder for its betterment. When we read a book or a passage, we tend to visualize it with our brain. It’s like a little movie only you can watch!
The brain processes the letters from the book to letters, words, then sentences, and finally to the storyline. Even after finish skimming through a book, the brain’s connectivity continues to persist. This is because the function of the brain is pretty similar to what we call, “muscle memory”. The more a person uses his or her muscles regularly, the stronger the muscles will become. The regular mental stimulation that reading provides can help to keep our mind sharp and improve our focus. Over time, we’ll realize that it takes us less time to finish reading a book compared to when we started!
In addition, reading also helps prevent age-related cognitive decline and fights Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the study done by American Academy Neurology in 2013, it is shown that a person who reads more develops fewer symptoms of the cognitive-related disease as the reading itself will help to decrease mental decline by about 32% among adults. Pretty cool, right?
6. Trains and increases attention span
A short attention span can be deeply problematic. Losing concentration easily not only affects our daily life, but it might also impact our self-confidence. Reading is considered a form of exercise for our brain. When we read a book, we tend to focus on a single plot or topic for several hours. Hence, even after reading the whole book, we can still remember the details and settings of the plotline. To maximize concentration levels, try blocking out distractions like phone notifications before indulging yourself with a book!
Isn’t it amazing how a simple act of reading does many wonders to our body and mind? Reading can boost your life in many ways, including improved well-being and mental health, self-development, and confidence. These benefits would support you in school, at work, and in your social life. We know that we’re too occupied with gadgets nowadays, but it is never too late to reignite the pleasure of reading books. So, what are you waiting for? Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) has been extended, use this time to grab your favourite novel from the shelf and start reading them now!
You can also purchase our modern-day poetry and short stories through Penwings Shop here! Happy Reading 😉
