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In this digital- and internet-frenzy world, hardbound books and novels have lost their charm. It's unfortunate that today, rather than inculcating a positive reading habit in children, he's exposed to the frivolous world of mobile phones, internet, video-game and social media. Even though reading books has an old school charm to it, it's scientifically-proven that it does more good to your brain than you know.
Researchers believe that people who read live longer than those who don't or read only newspapers. According to a data analysis done by researchers at Yale School of Public Health, people who read books for as little as 30 minutes live two years longer than their peers who depend only on newspaper reading. Another finding said that children, as young as six months, who were involved in a book ready habit show better literacy skill. In fact, if it continues for long, it supports healthy brain functioning and boosts brain power.
Not asking you to be a bookworm, but if you are not reading regularly, you are missing out on its many health benefits. Here's how reading can make your brain stronger while improving your vocabulary, writing and spoken language skills.
No matter how much stressed you are at work or in personal like, pick up a book and treat yourself to the magic of words. Studies reveal that reading while stressed transport the reader to realms of different realities that are interesting, happy and away from the real-life chaos for a while. It helps distracting brain for a while inducing happy and positive thoughts depending on the genre of the book. It can help you stay in present and stop you from overthinking which aggravates stress levels. Are you stressed? How about losing yourself in a great story?
When you read a novel, you visualise the story. You remember characters, their names and personality traits, background and plot; all this is good amount of information for your brain to memorise. In fact, you also get involved in thinking about the climax, whether or not it'd be according to your expectation. All this helps in sharpening the memory power. Experts say that every new memory makes a new brain paths that also strengthen the existing ones. This also helps in bettering short-term memory and managing mood swings. Next time when you feel low, head to your book rack.
Has it ever happened with you that while reading a mystery novel, you get to the analyses yourself trying to figure out the end? You take in consideration all points and plot twists and reach to the analysis of who did what. It happens to everyone who reads. However, it's not only restricted to books. Experts believe that this analytical power comes in handy while sorting out real-life issues as well. Your brain functions in the same way taking cues from real-life situations to decide what will happen next. This boosted analytical power makes you have clear and logical opinions in real life.
Does it make you wonder that your attention span has now reduced? Your focus has hit an all time low? It's true; it's because we get and filter information from many sources. We are also forced to multitask to settle into this competitive world. A usual day at work involves checking mails, answering phones, working, writing reports all at once, isn't it? Thus, we lose focus and our productivity gets compromised. While reading a book, all your focus is on the story and you pay attention even to minute details to keep a track of the story. This helps in improving concentration power. To deal with your hyperactive behaviour, spare 30 minutes every day for reading.
It's important to keep our brain occupied with constructive activities. When you put your brain to work, its power gets better. Studies say that those who keep their brains occupied with activities like reading are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Reading stimulates the brain and keep it away from inactivity. Inactivity of brain increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's. In fact, experts believe that inactivity could be one of the indicators of the disease. Did you know this?
Don't hate yourself for falling asleep the moment you start reading a book around your bedtime. It's not happening only with you, in fact, that's what reading is the most appreciated for. On the other hand, experts suggest making reading a bedtime ritual for people who face difficulty in falling asleep. It's because the brain gets a signal that you are unwinding by reading and calling it a day. On contrary, if you use phones or stay near to screen before your bed-time, it can severely impact your sleeping pattern and delay sleeping.
Apart from better mental health and brain power, it's needless to say that reading improves your reading and writing skills. It makes you intelligent and improves your vocabulary. If you have a habit of reading serious newsworthy articles or books with historic references, you are equipping yourself with knowledge. All this can boost your confidence, make you stand out in crowd and give you an edge over others.