When was the last time you read something substantially intellectual in character? We read something every day, however, is what we read really of any substance? Tweets, Facebook updates or even the directions on your instant noodle packet. If you don’t make a habit of reading regularly and widely, you might be missing out on a multitude of benefits.
Here are 10 benefits that you gain when you read more widely and avidly.
1. Mental stimulation
Reading stimulates and engages the brain and keeps it active. This ensures that your brain is mentally stimulated and prevents it from becoming stagnant. Just like your muscles, your brain requires regular exercise to keep it in tip-top shape. The cognitive stimulation reading offers can have various health benefits, such as slowing the onset, or possibly even preventing Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. If reading from a book is not your thing, you can also try doing crossword puzzles.
2. Stress reduction
Nothing is a better stress reliever than when you lose yourself in a great story. Chill out from the stress– which may be from work, from your personal relationships, or even from the countless issues faced in daily life – by reading a well-written novel or an engaging article. You can be instantly transported to other realms, or even be distracted while still firmly rooted in the present moment. Reading will help you drain your tensions away, allowing you to relax and recuperate your mind, body and spirit.
3. Knowledge
Everything you read will fill your mind with new information. Thus, read regularly and widely, as you never know when this information will come in handy. For example, you might read an article about setia alam property and think it might be random. However, you never know, if you decide to invest in property in the future, this information will certainly be helpful. The more knowledge you possess, the more well-equipped you are to tackle the challenges life throws our way. Also remember that come what may – whether you lose your job, your possessions, your money, or even your health – knowledge will be something that sticks with you through thick and thin. You might lose everything else, but you will never lose your knowledge.
4. Vocabulary expansion
Similar to knowledge, the more you read, the more words you are exposed to. These newfound words will inevitably make their way into your daily vocabulary. Reading thus improves your presentation of yourself and makes you a more articulate and well-spoken person. This can be of great help in any profession. Not only will it you more self-confident, it will be an enormous boost to your self-esteem. You will be armed with knowledge on a number of topics, as well as an awareness of literature, which will do well in helping you climb the career ladder.
5. Memory improvement
Reading regularly helps improve the mind and memory. Imagine the assortment of information you have to remember when reading a good novel – the characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history and even the small nuances on top of various sub-plots and story arcs that inevitable weave together to form a story. It does sound challenging, no? Our brains are truly marvelous in that they can remember these things with relative ease. Stories engage emotions, which in turn forges new memories and strengthens existing ones. All this help improve short-term as well as long-term memory.
6. Stronger analytical thinking skills
Reading not only stimulates our thinking, it also helps us hone in our analytical and critical thinking skills.
A good mystery novel not only provides entertainment, it also challenges your analytical thinking. Although you may think those "whodunnits" are predictable, you never know, some might surprise you. Put your critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of and sorting out the details to solve the mystery on your own. If you are not an enjoyer of mysteries, other genres can also sharpen your ability to analyze details. This may come in the form of critiquing the plot, or determining whether it was a well-written piece of work, or if the characters were well-developed, or if the storyline was smooth, etc. These analytical and critical skills that can be developed through reading may be put to good use in other aspects of your life.
7. Improved focus and concentration
Multi-tasking is becoming the norm these days, dragging out attention towards a million different directions at the same time. The average person’s mind will flutter between a multitude of tasks in a single 5-minute span, ranging from checking emails, to chatting with others, to monitoring their smartphone. This type of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behavior lowers our productivity due to the lack of concentration and focus. When you read, whether it’s a book or an article, you focus all your attention on what you are reading. This helps sharpen your mind and fine-tune your concentration. Try reading for 20 minutes each morning. You’ll be surprised how much better you are at focusing and concentrating throughout the day.
8. Improved writing skills
An extension of your expanded vocabulary is your exposure to well-written published works. We tend to pick up cues from the things surrounding us. The cadence, fluidity and writing styles of the authors you admire and read will invariably influence your own writing style. Just as we pick up tunes from listening, we pick up the ability to craft better prose by reading the written works of others.
9. Tranquility and serenity
Nothing brings about tranquility and inner peace better than a good book. No matter if it is spiritual texts, or even self-help books, reading promotes an atmosphere of relaxation that soothes the soul. The sense of calm and zen obtained through quiet reading helps us stay mentally healthy.
10. Free entertainment
Why pay for movies – which are often based on books anyways – when you can read the original thing? Although books can be quite pricey, it doesn’t have to be that way. Visit your local library and get access to new reading material for free. The possible reading materials are endless: every subject imaginable will be right at your fingertips. For the younger, tech-savvy generation, most libraries now provide their literary materials in PDF or ebook formats. That way you can just pop them on your e-reader or iPad and enjoy some environmentally friendly reading.