Before the electronic era, everyday reading was a ritual. People who wanted to gain knowledge read. It wasn’t necessary to remind people that there were benefits to reading.

Lately, though, people are so preoccupied with social media and the internet that fewer and fewer people are reading books. Some say they are too busy to read. Others say they don’t care to read.

This baffles me. Why?

There are so many benefits to reading. From making you smarter to improving your reading and writing skills, the benefits keep on coming. If you want to understand what benefits you will reap from developing the habit of reading, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are the top 10 benefits of reading.

 

10 Benefits of Reading

1. Mental Stimulation For Your Brain

When you read every day, you stimulate your mental activity. Studies show that one of the prime benefits of reading books is slowing disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. It happens because reading stimulates the brain and keeps it active. This allows the brain to retain its power and capacity.

Every part of our body needs exercise to stay healthy, and the same goes for your brain. Reading gives it regular exercise and keeps it healthy and sound.

2. Good Habit For Stress Reduction

Reading gives you that mental space to occupy yourself with something more interesting than whatever is bothering you and stressing you out.

Have you noticed that when you read a great story, your stress seems to slip away? You can relax and travel mentally in a different realm.

It’s also interesting that sometimes while reading, you come across valuable advice or solutions to your problems and stress.

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3. Knowledge-Enhancement

Since the beginning of civilization, our mental capacities have grown and developed. And not all knowledge is available in digitized form. This makes reading books even more important.
There are numerous ways to learn more about life, from self-help books to reading fiction. You can read an inspirational biography to lift your mood. One of the great benefits of reading books is that the knowledge you gain from them can never be taken away from you.

4. Vocabulary Expansion

If you are not yet convinced as to why reading books is important, this might interest you. When you develop the habit of reading, you enhance your vocabulary. Reading any type of book can improve your vocabulary!

Having a greater command over language helps many people both personally and professionally. With better vocabulary knowledge, you often feel more self-confident when talking in groups or with family and friends.

You can also expect to learn new languages when you develop the habit of reading. Many books use words from different languages, so reading really broadens your vocabulary in multiple languages.

5. Improves Your Memory

Regular reading is a great exercise for your brain. If you read a fictional book, your brain is forced to remember the names and nature of various characters. Going back to their history and remembering events or plots is fun and improves your memory.

One of the greatest benefits of reading daily is that your brain becomes super powerful. An amazing fact about our brain is that it can retain a great amount of information, and with every new memory, your brain creates new brain pathways or synapses.

Reading also strengthens your existing memory. It helps to recall short-term memory, as well.

6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills

One of the most amazing benefits of reading every day is that it can improve your analytical skills. For instance, reading mysteries helps you develop skills that can assist you in problem-solving.
While reading a novel, the plot disclosure is pretty slow, and your mind is forced to predict or make guesses. You get to connect the dots! It’s fun to make your brain smarter and enhance your analytical skills. Subconsciously the brain is trained to think in smarter ways and develop strong analytical skills. By reading, you are helping this process along.

7. Improves Focus and Concentration

Let’s face it. Technology makes people lazy. Almost everything is available with ease. It’s also harder to concentrate on bringing about any improvement in life because of so many distractions.

Want food? Just open your phone and order via the app!

Want clothes? Again, use an app and try on different attires virtually!

Most people would agree that we even tend to get lazy and don’t even make an effort to remember things. Simply put a reminder on the phone, and that’s it!

Reading can bring back the lost power of focus and concentration. If you feel that using modern technology has detracted from your abilities to focus, concentrate, and get tasks done, develop the healthy habit of reading every day. It will make a difference.

Keeping yourself occupied with reading for about 20 to 30 minutes can be great for your brain. It can help you with better focus and concentration.

8. Better Writing Skills

If you read more, you will naturally become a better writer. Since your vocabulary improves from reading regularly, it eventually makes you a better writer.

Even when writing something in your everyday personal and professional life, your writing skills will improve with regular reading.

The more you read, the better your writing skills become.

9. Tranquility

Don’t you sometimes feel like getting away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday nonsense and noise? It’s not always easy to get some alone time or solitude.

Reading a book allows you to gain a similar tranquility.

Reading self-help books or books that are spiritual in nature can uplift you and make you feel better.

10. Free Source Of Entertainment

We spend money on movies, music, and all sorts of entertainment. Why not simply read books with the same purpose of entertaining ourselves? You might be surprised to know that some of your favorite movies or TV series were made after getting inspiration from some of the greatest novels.

Reading books costs a lot less and keeps you entertained for longer. Use your local library! You can find books on any topic that you find interesting and keep yourself entertained for hours on end.

Final Thoughts

From health benefits to getting smarter, regular reading offers numerous benefits. You will enhance your knowledge about so many things if you just develop the habit of reading books regularly. You will thank yourself for this habit over and over again!

Looking for more ways to create better habits?? You can rewire your brain and create habits that work for you instead of against you!

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