Ever wondered why should we read? How is reading going to benefit us?
Many people say reading is good, and blah blah blah …! But many times we wonder, why is reading so good?
They also say that after reading a book, you become a different person. I bet you have wondered how can I become a different person after reading just a book?
So to satisfy your why’s and how’s, we have mentioned below 17 reasons for reading. These reasons will tell you how reading benefits us.
And will surely answer your questions like, why you should read?
So let’s get started…
P.S. We ourselves have experienced all these secrets while reading.
Reason #1 Improves your knowledge of the world
By reading a book, you get to know about the different cultures around the world, their habits, their history, the architecture around there, their practices, and other things.
By reading a book, you can get aware of a general topic. Or, you can even grab a book for a more specific and specialized topic to be well informed about it.
The more you read, the more informed you become.
Reason #2 Reduces stress
Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can make you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.
Even though you might not realize it, stress symptoms may be affecting your health. It can be the cause of that irritating headache or your frequent insomnia or be the reason for your decreased productivity levels.
So, it very essential you take on activities that help you in reducing stress.
One of these activities is Reading Books. Reading a book reduces stress levels significantly.
A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%. It works better and faster than other relaxation methods, such as listening to music or drinking a hot cup of tea.
So next time you feel stressed, why not just grab a fun book and start reading? 😉
Reason #3 Reading brings Curiosity along with Patience
How do you feel while reading?
Many times you just feel impatient because you just want to know what is going to happen next. How do you feel when there is some plot twist? You might feel like, come on, I need to know this. Like can’t it come fast enough!!!
You might feel like rushing to its end, to know the ending. I always feel like that while reading.
But reading a book is not about that. It is about learning to control your own emotions. It is about learning to control the rush you feel to reach the end, and at the same time to focus and concentrate on the present story.
This surely increases your patience and tolerance. And it can help you think and then react to situations, rather than just react.
To know what happens next, you need to Have Patience and keep Reading to know what happened next. So with reading, you learn to control your urge and curiosity, calm them, and be more patient.
Reason #4 Enhances Imagination
Reading a book is like watching an HD movie that is playing in our minds. All the scenes, the characters, the incidents, the places mentioned, and other things are playing in our head to form the said movie.
Reading is all about imagination. Isn’t it?
Imagining how the characters might look, what they might be thinking, what color or style of dress they are wearing, etc.
Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, Imagination encircles the world”. Isn’t it true?
Reason #5 Leads to creativity and new ideas
The main source of new ideas is imagination.
Whenever you start reading a book, graphical images and illustrations start forming in your head.
These graphical representations sharpen your imagination, leading to creativity and new ideas.
Creativity is nothing but the generation or recognition of ideas or possibilities. These ideas and possibilities are useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.
Thus rightly said, reading a book is a means for enhancing creativity and getting new ideas.
Reason #6 Your sweet Escape
Sometimes you have a lot of things going on in your mind. When you read, you leave all these things and enter into the world built by the author.
For instance: If you pick up a fantasy book, it is going to be your sweet escape to a different world.
By doing so, you leave all your worries, emotions, stress, and other things behind. This calms your mind, and when you stop reading, you are ready to deal with your own thoughts and emotions that have been troubling your mind.
No person can deny this: Sometimes, you just need a place to escape. Escape your problems, your stress, or your frustration, or any other thing. And a book can be your savior. It can be your sweet escape into a new different world.
This is one of the plus points of reading a book, it lets you travel into a different world.
Next time you feel like escaping, just grab a book.
Reason #7 Brings Joy and Happiness
How do you feel after reading a book?
You feel joy and happiness and sometimes a bit of sadness after the book has ended. But even in that sadness, there is happiness.
Reading a book can make you feel a lot more cheerful than you would have had felt otherwise.
So just go grab a book. If not, you are missing something worth experiencing a thousand times over.
Reason #8 Brings you Satisfaction
Along with happiness and joy, a book brings along a sense of satisfaction. The satisfaction of knowing new things, and experiencing them.
How do you feel after finishing a book? Do answer this in the comment.
I feel satisfied. Satisfied that now I know something new.
Don’t you also feel that?
The satisfaction of knowing new things, enhancing our knowledge of different cultures, about a different country and many other things.
Reason #9 Improves your Memory
When you read a book. You have to remember the characters, the plot, the story overall. Remembering these things enhances your memory.
For instance:
If you are reading a book that is a part of the series then, even when you are reading the last part of the series, you will have to remember the first part. Because then only you can relate to what is going on in the story right now.
This sharpens your information retention capacity. This directly or indirectly makes your memory strong.
According to one study, mental stimulation like reading can help protect memory and thinking skills, especially as you age.
In other research, reading has been shown to slow the rate of memory decline and the decline of other key mental capacities.
So if you want a sharper memory, go grab a book.
Reason #10 Better Focus and Concentration
When you read, you need to be present. Present in the story. Present in the now.
You need to focus on the story and cannot daydream.
Whatever time you spend on reading the book, you need to only read the book. You cannot multitask. The rest of the things don’t matter.
This helps you concentrate and focus on just one thing.
Which in turn, helps you improve your focus and concentration power.
So read a book, if you want to improve your concentration and focus.
Reason #11 Improves your Language Skills
The best way to improve or learn any language is by reading a book in that language.
For example: If you want to improve your French, grab a book written in the French language. You will notice that your command of the language would have been improved a lot.
Reading just one book can improve your command of a language on a huge scale.
Reason #12 Improves your Writing Skills
When you read a book, you become familiar with all the practices and writing styles in that language. Grammar and punctuation included.
So if you want to improve your writing skills, it is always suggested that you read books in that language. You won’t find any better teacher than that.
Whether you want to learn how to find a word, a way to structure a sentence, where to put which punctuations, you just need to read a book in that language. And you will how to write in that language more efficiently.
Reason #13 Better Conversational Skills
Have you ever tried talking to a person who reads 30 minutes daily or reads one book per month?
One thing you might notice is that their conversation skills are quite good.
People who read are great at conversations. Mostly, books lead people to have a deeper knowledge and richer experiences than the people who don’t read. When you read, you get the idea of how to speak, what to speak, when to speak as well as how to maintain your expressions.
The more you read, the more words you are exposed to, the better your conversational skills get.
Reason #14 Strengthens your analytical thinking and helps in Self Analysis
For example: Imagine you are reading a murder mystery. You will try to figure out what will happen next, who is the murderer, who is the innocent, and other things. It can be either be consciously or subconsciously. And when an unexpected plot twist comes you will be like, Ohhh, I didn’t see this one coming. Bravo author, you managed to surprise me again!! 😜
Sometimes when you are reading, you come across a character similar to yourself. Many times understanding that character can help you understand yourself better. Sometimes, it can even help you understand your own emotions.
Thus reading helps you self-analysis as well as can help you in strengthening your analytical skills.
Reason #15 May increase your life span
Yes, you heard it right? Reading can add years to your life. It can increase your lifespan.
Researchers at Yale University School of Public Health have said that reading a book for just half an hour daily can add two years to your life. They determined that people who read books regularly have a 20% lower risk of dying over the next 12 years compared with people who are nonreaders or who read periodically.
Isn’t it amazing that along with providing entertainment and enjoyment and joy, reading can even add years to your life?
Reason #16 Door to the minds of other people
When you read, you might have a belief about something. If that person shares the same beliefs as you do, it can help you strengthen your own belief.
If not, i.e., if you read a book from a person who has different beliefs, then you will get a chance to analyze your own beliefs. It can either reassure your stand on your own belief or make you change your perspective.
Either way, reading a book helps you broaden and analyze your beliefs. You get to know a different perspective.
Reason #17 Develops empathy
When you read a book, you leave your mind and go into a different person’s mind.
You try to understand what another person wants to say rather than making it all about yourself. Because while reading a book, no one is judging you. You don’t need to explain your beliefs to anyone.
While reading a book, you are standing in another person’s shoes. In this way, you learn to relate to another person. Reading a book helps you understand another person’s emotions. Also, it helps understand their viewpoints and see things from their perspective.
Conclusion
Therefore rightly said,
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
– Joseph Addison
As exercise is necessary to keep the body healthy, in the same way, reading is necessary to keep the mind healthy.
No person is the same after reading a book. And now you too know why.
Reading a book makes you a changed person. After reading a book, either that person has gained an immense amount of valuable knowledge, experience, joy, or happiness, or he has just lost time. But no matter what, no person will be the same after reading a book.
Now, just to summarize the benefits of reading a book:
- Improves your knowledge of the world
- Reduces stress
- Reading brings Curiosity along with Patience
- Enhances Imagination
- Leads to creativity and new ideas
- Your sweet Escape
- Brings Joy and Happiness
- Brings you Satisfaction
- Improves your Memory
- Better Focus and Concentration
- Improves your Language
- Improves your Writing Skills
- Strengthens your analytical thinking and helps in self-analysis
- Better Conversational Skills
- May increase your Life-Span
- Door to the minds of other people
- Helps in developing Empathy
Hope now you know why you should read books, and these points will motivate you to pick up a book and make reading a conscious habit.
If you need help in choosing a good book, check out this.
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- How to Choose A Good Book (11 Useful Tips)
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Have an amazing day ahead!😊
Happy Reading! Keep smiling!!
Thank You!
Thank You!
Good job! I really enjoyed reading this, and it was very entertaining. It made me want to pick up a book and read right now! I would also say reading benefits me by being an escape to a world other than my own. Whatever emotions the characters feel I tend to feel too, and reading improves my mood!
Thank You!
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog. Great.