23 Wonderful Benefits of Reading to Empower You
- Published on
- Shalini
- in Book Posts, Book Tips, Digital Reads Media
Table of Contents
Benefits of Reading Discussion
Introduction
Long before I came to know the benefits of reading, I had started reading. My mother emphatically assures me that my first gift was given to us by a Russian colleague of my father – The Fairy Tales by Grimm Brothers. I still remember, albeit vaguely, having the hardbound book for many years until in time I outgrew fairy tales and got addicted to mysteries and thrillers.
After all, it is scientifically proven that reading is beneficial for both our physical and mental health. Books especially have this unique power to change our lives in ways we could never have perceived before this. And, what’s more, some of them work at a deep subconscious level.
Ask someone who doesn’t read, and the chances are he or she will undoubtedly scoff us off. Despite that, only you know the truth. Once you get hooked on books, there is, by and large, no going back. Reading particularly becomes our salvation
For the purpose of argument, let’s say that you need to convince your friend or colleague to give a chance to reading. Here are a few points that will surely help you to reveal the benefits of reading to a non-believer. I bet you never thought of some of these points too.
Without much ado in this conversation, let’s spring to the actual benefits of reading.
Broaden Our Mindscape
In time, we would like to believe we know everything. But, undeniably, none of us know everything. Very few amongst us, subsequently, then get the insight we really know very minuscule of things, and we are probably ignorant about most things. Fear not, the books are at hand to offer us help.
They help to broaden our thinking power, our tolerance to accept the difference, and our already-always knowledge by exposing us to new beliefs and cultures. We receive a global perspective if we not only just read but also imbibe the words deep into our core. The world then appears more expansive than before, and not long after empathy begins to ooze from us. And we see everything differently.
Critical Thinking
Do you know the ability to intelligently argue is also enhanced by books? Yes, the television too might give you some ideas. But if you notice, I have used the word “intelligently.” Books singularly help you to analyze what is being said and interpret it cleverly, without adding your own internal dialogue to it. Reading helps us to evaluate facts and make decisions effectively.
Enhance Memory
Science does show reading helps to improve memory. As you already know, anything that is unused for a long period of time gets rusted or spoiled or simply doesn’t work well anymore. A paralyzed patient needs physiotherapy to keep his muscles from getting atrophied and weak.
Similarly, our brain too is a kind of muscle. The more you use it, the more it remains in working condition. Then the blood supply to the head improves with the heightened passion we feel while reading.
Remember the time when you wanted to whack your characters when they behaved stupidly? Ah, you do. That’s the time when the blood pressure increases, and the brain is flushed with oxygen in the blood.
Books help in improving the recall function of the brain, and thereby our memory improves.
Focus and Creativity
Our books are the haven of creativity, whose sole focus in life is to allow us to escape reality and go into the land of imagination. Stress is reduced then.
Concentration
Concentration too improves when you read books that draw a kind of deliberate focus from you. When we read, we are constantly trying to retain and then recall information. And by following the convoluted plotlines, it helps to improve our concentration skills and memory.
Empathy and Understanding
From a very young age, our kids should be shown the importance of empathy. Put yourself in the shoes of others and experience what they are going through. Our books too teach us the same when we jump into the skins of our main characters and go through their emotions. That brings about a better understanding of people’s feelings and actions. We begin to understand their motives as we do our main characters’.
My family has done this with my niece, started her out with books that showed her empathy made the elders read out to her so that she understood them, and showed more caring toward them.
Now she reads books on her own, and when she points out when the characters are mean to each other, I am happy.
We can give our kids the right foundation. How they build it up is on them.
Enrichment and Accomplishment
Books enrich our lives. They fill us with a sense of accomplishment as each book read makes us feel as if we have achieved something. That makes it so rewarding. One good book means one good task done.
Bonding with the kids and other family members
In my family, everyone of us reads, including my tiny tot niece. It is a fact she shares her books with me and asks me to read the ones I have forgotten about.
So, when we share the things that happened over the past week past, books we read become our focus point. She finished the Wimpy Kid book, and I had finished a couple of books of Urban Fantasy. Both of us are happy.
Find Our Passions
Not all of us can know ourselves completely from the beginning. There is still more to discover. Reading can help us to find ourselves and our passions in our lives. Just by reading several topics, we can come to know what interests us and what topics we are passionate about. This helps us to find our direction and give our lives a direction.
Reduce Stress and Provide Entertainment
Nothing can beat this reason. In fact, ask any of the bibliophiles, and they would swear that they prefer the book version more than the movies or television version.
Our books are sheer entertainment that help us to let go of the stresses in our lives. Get transported to different lands with each book, different jobs, different relationships, then experience the gamut of their emotions right from the couch.
With each line of the description of worldbuilding, the books begin to wrap their magic around us. Then, as we become immersed in the story, our muscles slowly begin to relax one by one. That helps to reduce stress and anxiety levels and thus low chances of hypertension and heart attacks.
Even our blood sugars are known to normalize and stay stable.
Books are a perfect outlet for escapism and the release of steam that life’s pressures have brought to us.
Transformation of our lives
Reading transforms our lives, both consciously and on the subconscious level. As we read the lines in the book, we begin to imbibe the words deep in our core, and our perspectives slowly begin to change. Change doesn’t happen in one day or in one book. But it does happen. Life is not only about understanding life from our own experiences but also learning through that lived by others.
Improves Sleep Quality
It has been shown that reading regularly, especially half-hour before sleeping, brings about relaxation of the mind and body and thus improves sleep quality. A good way to prevent and sometimes treat the beginnings of insomnia.
I am living proof of that. Due to losing so many people in the pandemic, sleep was no longer my friend, and even if I did, it would be disturbed. My brain would bounce from one topic to another, and getting it to get it to rest was a herculean task. Audiobooks saved my life. I started listening to audiobooks, and just focusing on the narrator’s voice helped me relax my mind until the brain waves went into sleep mode.
Reading a book once in a while is good, but doing it regularly on a daily basis helps to target our concentration and bring focus to all parts of our lives.
Become Smart
Give a boost to your intelligence. Books improve and broaden knowledge by adding new words to our vocabulary. That helps us to communicate effectively so that nothing gets lost in translation. It can also improve the analytical aspects of our brain. As you and I know every muscle in the body needs regular exercise. And the brain too needs that.
Reading helps the brain to think critically and helps us improve our comprehension abilities. Medically too, there have been many studies that prove reading regularly enhances our cognitive function and allows us to process information more.
Learn New Things
Books are the best way to glean knowledge. The past and the present then come within the realms of our reach, each piece of information under our fingertips as we turn each page. Imagine every aspect of the history, learn about the present, and better the future.
Improve Our Writing Skills
It is also a known fact that reading books help in improving our writing skills. The different styles of writing let us know what style we want to adopt to become better writers.
Improve Our Lives and Increase Longevity
So far, I have noted the fact that reading helps in better brain function and gives us a sense of well-being. But there is an added benefit, reading helps in healthy living. Don’t you remember the grandmothers’ home recipes, things they did and made that helped them to live a better, disease-free life? Reading too allows us to choose healthy lifestyles, thereby improving our quality of living and life expectancy.
Protect Our Mental Health
A lot of our anxiety-related problems come from the hustle and bustle of a stress-filled life. Reading releases the endorphins—the good hormones—in our body and helps to fight depression and keep those negative thoughts away. We do know that books improve our mood. This helps to make a positive impact on our mental well-being and thereupon adds to our overall health.
Be Our Best Friends
It is said – Books are our best friends. That is so true. When I am holding a book in my hand or when I see my books on my nightstand, I get this feeling that I am not alone. Sometimes the silence of life gets to me. I just switch on my audiobook, and I feel not so lonely.
Yes, you might say that you can do the same with a television, but they have channels and they put up shows they want to. You don’t really get a choice. But books are different. They offer you a plethora of choices. Just tap a button, and you can listen to your favorite book.
Social Media Detoxification
I don’t know about you, but I am known to have a mobile phone in my hand almost constantly. There are times that aspect about me bugs me the most. I hate addictions of any sort.
To give myself a form of detoxication, I take a book in my hand and just read, switching my cell phone to silent mode and placing it far away from me. I can’t say that I have achieved complete freedom from internet addiction, but books have been known to keep that distraction to a minimum.
Give a Shine to the Day
Remember the moment or the day when you know the book of your favorite author is releasing? Do you recollect the giddy joy you staightaway feel? The anticipation of the book getting delivered home or to your Kindle if you have pre-ordered it. Do you love that feeling of having something to look forward to?
I swear such a day fills me up with excitement and not to mention, even the most boring of my chores are done faster than before. In truth, I need days like that. The anticipation of those moments, where I am bursting with happiness at the idea of cuddling up on the couch with a new book together with a cup of coffee.
How about knowing you have been approved by Netgalley for the book of your choice or when the publisher accepts your email request? To sum it up, those are some of my best days. I feel I have achieved something. These might not be a direct result of reading, but my point is that even the anticipation of reading or getting approved by a publisher in order to read your favorite book can bring a sparkle to a dreary day.
The Skill of Saving Money
For many of us in different parts of the globe, books are expensive. I have a book budget for every month, and if I want to buy a book desperately, I judiciously save money so that I can add it to my book budget.
Art of Bargaining
It is so evident by now I love reading and so do you. After all, you have been reading this blog post carefully to reach this point. Some of the developing countries have these used book places, where you can bargain to get a good deal on them.
My sister is pretty good at bargaining, unlike me. During my student days, every once in a while, I have been known to drag her all over the city in order to search for book bargains. I may have not learned this art even at this point. But I can honestly say my reading and longing for books have made my family learn the art of bargaining. As a matter of fact, that is no longer restricted to books.
Learn New Things
Though this has been spoken about, nonetheless, I need to reiterate this fact. As I reflect on my bygone days, I have come to the conclusion that I have come so far in life, blogging, and writing reviews and articles for medical journals only due to my hours of reading. My love for reading is not restricted to the books and genres of my choice, but to things that I have no idea about. I read when I am in a fix. Then I read so that I don’t get into a fix. Furthermore, I read in order to get a new solution when the fix is not resolved.
Attain Peace and Dream for the Skies
There are times when my brain doesn’t stop thinking, and the world appears to be full of noise. But the moment I start reading and disappear into the pages of the book, I attain nirvana. Pure unadulterated bliss. The kind that if I bottle and sell it, I would certainly become the richest woman on earth.
Then comes the rush of the daydreams. Don’t you feel most of our dreams come from books? The first crush I had was on the hero of the book.
Nowadays, it is my love for Urban Fantasy genre that makes me dive deep into my dreams. I am always the heroine in my books with spells and sword at my back along with a katana or two. A complete kickass babe.
Benefits of Reading a lot of Books
As you all know, I am a voracious reader. It is a known fact I am not satisfied unless I have a book in hand and my Kindle filled with all my books, along with a few audiobooks on my phone. I actually feel restless when I don’t have them in hand. I never leave home unless I have downloaded a few books on my phone and just in case my 20-minute outing is prolonged to a longer one.
You may not know this, not only do I read books, but also many articles on the net and medical journals. I love reading. Period. I find my brain retaining a lot of information as trivia. They may not seem important at this point, but sometimes that information does come in handy. So, reading a lot of books gives me an opportunity to explore varied topics and the chance to understand this world better. Different cultures and their perspectives. And of course, outer space. Yep, you bet. I believe the galaxies have more to offer.
To summarize
The more I read, the more I crave to read. It is a vicious cycle. One that I never want to break. Books, after all, do make you productive in other facets of your life. You never know when I might just become a multi-millionaire.
Frankly speaking, I read only because it is the only method I know to unwind. Books help me escape the truths of life and give me moments of peace. That is the only way I know to maintain my sanity.
I have been asked what my hobby is by many people. Many say it is reading books and novels. But there is one and only one thing that comes to my mind always.
READING
I love reading, and they can be as simple as a sheaf of papers or as complex as my text books. Actually, I will read anything that captures my interest.
So, there you have it. The benefits of reading.
When did you start reading? Are there any added benefits you have procured by reading? Let me know in comments
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4 Responses
I was an early reader, as was my daughter. To me, empathy is the standout reason to read. Reading about a character is as close as you can get to being in someone else’s shoes
Hello LA, At what age would you be called as an early reader. We don’t have that category here. Just for my information
I consider early reading if you read before you go to kindergarten, so 3-4 years old
Ah, then my niece was one. I was not.