Want to fuel your brain? Here's why you should get into reading

10 reasons why reading is all the brain power you need

I’m a bookworm, an avid reader, who would buy thousands of books – if my bank balance allowed it – but I know that a lot of people don’t read, or they just read when lounging around a pool in the Spanish sun on holiday.

But as we get older, our memory fades and our brains become less active. We realise we don’t know facts that we once did, and we struggle remembering everyday things.

We live in an age where you can read a book on your commute to work, on your phone, or buy it off Amazon and have it instantly delivered to your kindle. We can access books far more easily now than ever before, but what do we actually get out of reading?

Is reading just for pleasure – to escape the stresses of life? Or can it benefit us for reasons other than enjoyment?

Have a read below to see why you should get back into reading:

Mental stimulation:

Reading stimulates your brain, and as you grow a stronger reading ability, your brain’s networks will become stronger and more sophisticated. Physically reading is an active action – compared to passively watching TV – and it requires you to train your mind to focus on the information you’re given and to actually take it in. Reading stimulates you mentally; it’s a workout for your brain.

Stress reduction:

Everyone gets stressed at some point in their lives, some are even stressed every day; but reading has been proven to help decrease stress levels in just 30 minutes, by lowering heart rate, blood pressure and psychological distress. It has the same effects as yoga and meditation, but can be more enjoyable – in my opinion anyway – and can transport you to other worlds free of everyday problems.

Builds your vocabulary:

The more you read, the more words you know. The more words you know, the better you express your thoughts and feelings. The more extensive your vocabulary, the better the chance of a later mental decline. Reading can help you learn a variety of new words, which can in turn aid your ability to communicate with others, and perhaps prove useful in certain situations in life, like job applications.

Knowledge:

As mentioned above, reading can increase your vocab, but did you know that it can extend your general knowledge? If you read, you will instinctively pick up facts and bits of knowledge about various topics, sometimes without even knowing, and what you read doesn’t need to be hard-hitting non-fiction or prose for this to happen; it can be light-hearted, and you can still pick up tidbits of info.

Analytical skills:

When you read, you will undoubtedly analyse the words on the page; you’ll notice if there’s an incorrect spelling, or if a word is missing. If you like reading crime novels, you’ll analyse the plot to see if you can figure out who the culprit is – I know I do – and sometimes you’ll even analyse stories to see what events will happen, even when reading romance. All of this helps you use your analytical skills, and inevitably strengthens them.

Improved writing skills:

Writing is all about grammar, punctuation, syntax and other technical stuff, but those who read often, learn what makes “good” writing. Readers can absorb an author’s writing style and they’re able to imitate and emulate it within their own writing – sometimes even subconsciously. The more often you read, the more you’ll read good quality writing, and the better your own writing will become.

Prevention against cognitive decline:

Whilst it’s not definitively proven that reading can prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s, there is research that shows it can help against them. Reading keeps your brain engaged, and if you read a bit every day – or do some logic puzzles – then you can improve your cognitive functioning and maintain it.

Strengthens empathy:

Reading about different people and different situations in life can help you understand other people, with different circumstances to you, better. It can open your eyes to issues of the world, and help you see what other people are going through. This is called the ‘theory of the mind’ and it can even help you maintain social relationships.

Improved focus:

Focus is something that a lot of people struggle with; we flit between our socials, watching TV, and tuning into different conversations. We find it difficult to pay attention to something for a long time, but reading can improve our focus. Reading a substantial piece of writing requires you to focus on it for long periods of time, so that you know what is happening and don’t get confused by losing focus on the story.

So if you’ve never picked up a book, or have had a break from your reading, remember these tips.

Reading is beneficial for both our enjoyment and our health.

Until next time…