Benefits of Reading

It is my undying belief that ‘Books are special’ and in not one or two but in many ways. Most people view reading as a hobby that one pursues in leisure time. No harm in it but it is surely a narrow way of looking at book reading. Reading is much more than a leisure past time and is benevolent in multiple ways.

So what we get out of reading? Does benefits transcend beyond pleasure? Yes, indeed. Reading benefits both mental and physical health, and those benefits can last life time. Let's take a look how reading changes our brain and body for good.

1. Strengthens the brain - There are ample published scientific studies establishing the fact that reading is good for brain as it strengthens it. Reading improves brain’s ability to effectively process both visual and verbal information. It provides mental simulation improving overall health of brain in old age.

2. Creates cognitive engagement - Cognitive ability reflects ability to learn, remember and take decisions. Reading creates cognitive engagement whose benefits traverse across all age groups. Youngsters benefit through improved vocabulary, better thinking skills, and better concentration. As we age memory and attention, important aspects of cognition, gets effected. Reading can reduce such age related decline in cognitive ability and can protect cognitive function. Moreover, reading effects empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence in positive way.

3. Lowers stress - Any activity in which brain is fully focused on a task is proven to reduce stress and increase relaxation. A 2009 study found that 30 minutes of reading reduces physical markers of stress like blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and feeling of physiological distress. Benefits observed were similar to 30 mins of yoga. Reading prompts an active engagement of imagination which simulates creativity and causes one to enter into an altered state of consciousness.

4. Alleviates depression symptoms - Books have been used (though not consciously always) as a form of therapeutic relief. Books have the ability to lessen the feeling of isolation and create a sense of consolation. Fictional books help reader temporarily escape own world and be part of the imaginary world. It also allows reader to experience new emotions along with characters of the book. UK’s national Health Service has a book prescription program in which self- help books are prescribed to patients.

5. Longer Life span - This may come as a surprise to many according to study published in 2017 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5105607/#R3) reading reduces 20% risk of mortality. Reading leads to a healthy lifestyle and better cognitive abilities in senior citizens lowers the risk of mortality.

Keep Reading! Keep Benefitting!