5 reasons to read more
We celebrate World Book Night by bringing you 5 reasons why you should read more.
With television, video games and social media taking over our lives, many people no longer find time to read. However, reading has been proven to have many great benefits.
Today, 23 April, marks World Book Night – a day dedicated to spreading the love of reading.
Below are 5 more reasons to love reading:
Food for the brain
When you read, you feed your brain with information. Reading exposes you to new information and helps widen your knowledge. Being informed gives you an advantage when it comes to engaging in social debates with others.
Helps you relax
Escape the worries of everyday life by reading a book you enjoy. Research by the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%.
"It really doesn't matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author's imagination,” cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis told Telegraph.
"This is more than merely a distraction but an active engaging of the imagination as the words on the printed page stimulate your creativity and cause you to enter what is essentially an altered state of consciousness"; he added.
Improves your vocabulary
Reading helps you learn new words and ideas which you can later use to express yourself better.
The more you read, the more you will improve your vocabulary and your speech.
Gymnastic for the brain
Reading can be like mental gymnastics for the brain, because we use vivid imagery as well as memory to follow the main idea.
Reading prevents Dementia
Giving your brain regular workouts from childhood onwards by reading and writing letters can help fight off dementia. This is according to research by Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago.
Lead author Dr Robert Wilson, said: “Our study suggests that exercising your brain from childhood through old age is important for brain health in old age.”
Read our expert advice on how to teach your child to read fluently from a young age by clicking here.