I was looking through the internet the other day, and I decided to put in the phrase: the advantages of reading. I was really surprised at the number of entries for this topic. I opened a few, and articles from Healthline and Bustle had several reasons why we should all read. They were pretty clear and concrete (except maybe the second one), so I thought I would repeat some of them here.
1. Reading makes your brain stronger.
This reason is a bit confusing to me, but it has to do with how your brain changes while you read. And for the better. Reading can be a complicated thing (supposedly, even reading my posts helps the brain get stronger—hooray!) and scientists even use MRI scans to prove that connections between different parts of the brain increases. And that’s a good thing.
2. Reading fiction helps you to understand what a character is thinking and feeling.
The proper term is “empathy,” and I remember my mom trying to teach me this from the time I was quite young. I think I started to understand this about the age of 17 or 18. But I believe that since I started reading books a lot about five years ago, I can now understand why characters feel the way they do.
3. Reading can help you learn new words and you will actually be able to use them when talking to people. This is the argument my mom would make when I refused to read years ago. She would tell me that I would learn all kinds of wonderful things, discover new worlds and I would also increase my vocabulary. So instead of saying: “I like the book,” I could now say “The book has interesting characters, and I am able to relate to them” or “This show has a slow pace and unlikely subject matter” instead of “This show sucks.” How’s that for a bigger vocabulary!?
4. Reading reduces stress. A study found online proves this, and sometimes I do feel calmer when I’m reading. But you have to really like what you’re reading, whether it’s classics, supernatural or manga. So, even if you only have half an hour, chill by reading!
5. Reading increases your attention span. Because a book has a beginning and a middle and an end, your brain starts to think in order. When we read online, we are jumping from tab to tab. But when we read a novel, we have to really think about the story. Our brain has to put together what we are reading, and that makes our attention spans increase.
6. Reading increases memory. This has to do with putting the pictures in your mind, which is something my mom has always told me that I should try to do. If you are really thinking about what you are reading, like putting the picture in your mind of where a character lives or how they look, then you are more likely to remember stuff. So, if someone is explaining how to do something, especially if it has more than one step, it’s probably going to be better if you try to picture yourself doing that.
Well, that’s it. I’d love to hear from you, so why don’t you comment and tell me what reading does for you!
I got a lot of this information from a Healthline article and a Bustle article.
