The Benefits of Reading

How often do you find yourself reading for the sake of personal enjoyment? If you had to take a guess, how often would you say that the average person reads in general?

For some people, pleasure reading is a beloved pastime, connecting each of us to a wider array of ideas, cultures, knowledge, and experiences. To the avid reader, there is a multitude of great and obvious benefits to devouring a good book. Yet to everyone else, reading can often seem like a boring chore – maybe even a daunting task in and of itself. We’ve all met someone with this perspective, and perhaps some of the readers of this very article may be counted among that number. There are no judgements here, as this is simply an article meant to show the many benefits of reading. It is ultimately up to you to decide if you wish to read for fun (and eventually become a huge nerd like the rest of us!)

For the past several hundred years, people have been reading a variety of things in popular culture and publication; starting from early poetry and public news, to the still semi-recent invention of the novel. Words have always been a heavily embedded part of western civilization and the broader world – even before the invention of the printing press. And yet, as general language literacy has increased worldwide over the last century, with over 86% of people over the age of 15 being able to read and write, more and more people seem to be flocking to different forms of media, each competing over the ever-shrinking attention spans of the masses.

The alternatives come in a variety of examples:

• The relatively old battle between television and books continues to this day. With the advent of streaming services, Hollywood has made it exceptionally easy to access the latest tv shows and movies in an effectively limitless capacity.

• Video games have become an exceedingly popular form of entertainment over the few decades since their creation and have now become a multi million-dollar enterprise.

• Personal computers and cellphones have taken leaps and bounds in the advancement of their portability and features ever since the debut of the iPhone, allowing users to engage in a wider range of activities.

So where does all of this leave reading?

Words haven’t gone anywhere. Many people continue to read small tidbits here and there, such as an interesting article or blog (or maybe just the headlines), and of course the publishing industry is still around, but compared to the practice of general pleasure reading, other leisure activities still continue to overshadow the novel. A study by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences found that the average time Americans spent reading decreased from 21 minutes in 2003, to less than 16 in 2018.

If reading is meant to be good for us, then that is far less than the ideal! At first glance, one might assume little to nothing about this information and find no harm in the changing focus of media. But reading is much more than a simple pastime; it has always been central to the development of communication and information throughout history. To miss out on all the benefits it has to offer would mean a great loss. Which is why you should consider…

The Health Benefits of Reading

1. Reading Teaches Us Best About The Stuff We Care About

This first one may seem pretty obvious, but it’s true! There are millions of subjects out there, each with their own individual subtopics, genres, and authors who’ve given their commentaries and jotted down their ideas. It’s not unreasonable to say that there is probably a book about each and every subject under the sun!

Of course, the easy question that follows is “why can’t I just google the thing that I’m interested in”, and my response would be that the credibility of internet sources can vary, with none of them delving nearly as deep into any one subject as much as a well-researched book. Even the best authors of fiction still research and draw inspiration from the real world in order to give life to their characters and setting. George R.R. Martin wouldn’t have been able to create the world of Westeros if he didn’t read a thing or two about the ancient world and medieval history. Specialists in technical fields can seldom call themselves “specialists” without first having read about the works of other experts!

What sort of things do you find interesting? Find a book on the subject and learn more about it!

2. Reading Increases Your Longevity

According to a 12-year study which documented the patterns of readers and non-readers over the age of 50, those who read at least 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die. Now that may sound a little morbid, but the correlation seems to suggest reading can be a possible cause of increased “survivability”.

The research points to the idea that the act of immersing oneself into their reading engages a wide array of cognitive processes in the brain, which in turn helps to promote things like critical thinking ability, social intelligence, and overall knowledge of the world.

Reading fiction can also relieve stress better than other methods, lowering high blood pressure and helping to prevent mental ailments later in life. It engages multiple parts of the brain at once, strengthening the connection of neural pathways through different areas, and the more frequently these parts of the brain are being used, the healthier that area becomes! For example:

• The prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher thinking, is engaged by the sounds of speech (whether in your head or read aloud).

• The parietal and occipital lobes, responsible for sensation and perception, are engaged by the identification of language and the interpretation of words into meaning.

It stands to reason that reading might be related to heightened sensations, allowing us to feel things more deeply on a physical and mental level. So start reading, grow your brain, get high on life!

3. Reading Improves Articulation

Its no secret that reading improves vocabulary, and this can be an invaluable skill across all facets of your daily activity. Whether you’re writing academic papers for school, a resume for a new job, a business presentation or proposal, or that passion project you’ve been cooking up at home, the incorporation of new words allows people to explain themselves more clearly and vibrantly.

Beyond just the words themselves, reading novels gives a sense for the style of professional writers and speakers throughout history. The strict standards of mainstream publication, while sometimes overly stringent and exclusive, have at least led to a certain level of quality which can be a great help to people learning how to write, and the individual personalities of the writers who have been published still shine on through the editing. A close reader can study the work of their favorite authors and pick up on certain strategies which they can then integrate into their own work and help develop their style to become more effective at communicating their ideas.

Who are some of your favorite authors? Which aspects of their writing style make their writing enjoyable or informative to read? Is there something you can learn from these strategies?

Closing Words

It’s clear based on both the data and widely known history that a good book can do a lot! But even if you were to ignore all the stuff I just told you and decide that reading isn’t for you, there’s something we can all still agree on; life has its share of ups and downs. Sometimes when you find yourself taking the difficult slope, it can be a great help just to get away for a little while and escape to some other place. Maybe that’s a place in another part of the world, or maybe that a place that only exists inside our minds. There are many ways to escape, and not all of them good for you; you might as well choose one that’s good for your brain instead!