Did you know that the love of reading can protect your brain from Alzheimer's disease, reduce the impact of stress on your body, strengthen positive thinking and strengthen friendships?
1. Reading improves memory
Reading gives the brain a completely different treatment than watching TV or listening to the radio. Regardless of whether you are reading demanding literature or the user manual of a household appliance, the parts of the brain responsible for functions such as vision, language and learning by association are connected in a unique neural network that is specific to the activity of reading, which brings numerous benefits with the brain. Dr. Ken Pugh, director of the Haskins Research Laboratory, says that this habit stimulates our brain to think and has a positive effect on concentration.
2. Reading can help with recreation
One of the trends in modern exercise is exercising with a book (on a stepper, treadmill, exercise bike). A book can occupy our attention while we exercise, according to "Weight Watchers" magazine, so we can stay on the exercise machine longer and make our training more effective. Dr. Michel Olson, a professor from Auburn University, explains to the aforementioned magazine that it is important, when reading and exercising, to take care of the position of the shoulders and neck, and some of the modern machines also offer a stand for books or magazines that device users read while exercising.
3. Reading rejuvenates the brain
A recent study conducted at Rush University Medical Center showed that reading can "erase" several years of age from our brains.
Adults who spend their free time engaged in creative and intellectually challenging activities (such as reading) have about a 32% lower rate of cognitive decline later in life. "Challenges to the brain make it more efficient by changing its structure so that it can function properly despite age-related neuropathology," explains Dr. Robert S. Wilson, professor of neuropsychology at Rush University Medical Center.
Another study found that adults who regularly read or play mentally demanding games such as chess or puzzles are about 2 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, ABC News reports.
4. Reading can relieve stress
Engaging in favorite literature can reduce levels of unhealthy stress hormones like cortisol, Weight Watchers reports.
In a study conducted in Great Britain, participants were exposed to anxiety-inducing activities and then read, listened to music, or played video games for a few minutes. The stress level of those who read decreased by 67%, which is significantly higher than those who listened to music and played games.
5. Reading increases vocabulary
Even though most of us left school long ago, today there is a widespread view that the process of education can be continuous throughout life. Reading can also expand our vocabulary. Moreover, researchers estimate that about 15% of all words we learn in our lifetime are learned through reading, writes "Scholastic". This is especially important for children, whose vocabulary is directly and strongly related to the books they read.
6. Reading improves empathy
The stories we read offer us perspectives that can change our lives, according to researchers from York University.
Becoming involved in characters' lives increases our ability to understand other people's emotions.
Seeing the world through the eyes of Oliver Twist, for example, can bring us closer to the problems faced by abandoned children.
7. Reading can help define life goals
Reading about someone who overcame problems and obstacles on the way to their goal can encourage us to define and reach our goals, according to researchers from Ohio University. If you would like a raise, a character in a book who demands one from his boss can encourage us to do the same. The more we identify with the characters and their experiences, the more likely they are to move us to action.
8. Reading helps us feel more connected to each other
When we identify with characters in books, we can experience a sense of connection with other people, according to University at Buffalo researchers. In other words, by reading "Marley and me", we can better understand people who love and raise dogs.
9. Reading can cheer us up
Stories with a happy ending certainly cheer us up, but even beyond that, the different stories we follow in books can also evoke positive feelings in more subtle ways. Even minor events in the story can fuel some fond memories. For example, if the main character in the book goes to the beach, we can also remember our own trip to the beach where we enjoyed it.
10. Reading helps us save money
Compared to a few trips to the cinema, a trip to an amusement park or a few dinners in restaurants - reading is much cheaper, and the relationship between the money invested and the pleasure that book lovers feel is in favor of reading. And there is a local library, which means that the costs of reading can be truly symbolic, and the benefits, obviously, immeasurable.
Source: Reader's Digest
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