Month: July 2013

Reading is the cheapest form of entertainment. There is no electricity involved, of course other than printing the book. By reading, one can have a myriad of stories, interesting knowledge learnt and new insights and perspectives gained. However due to more and more 'fast' media being produced, slower media like reading are being pushed aside. Fast media includes, movies, internet and many other rapid information disseminating mediums to come in the near future. It has come to a point where there are people who gave up reading completely. Nonetheless, there are benefits that reading can bring us which its counterparts cannot. These are the reasons why you should find time to read. 1. Enhances the senses Merely reading a word reflecting a color or a scent immediately fires up the corresponding section of the brain, which empathizes with written experiences as if they actually happened to the audience. This is why when you are reading, you will feel that you are actually in the scene as described in the book. It is also one of the main reasons why many find reading pleasurable. There are researchers who believe that this might very well help sharpen the social acumen needed to forge valuable relationships with others. With enhanced sensory skills, perhaps you will become more efficient to pick up hints from babes? 2. Enables lifelong learning In correlation with the previous point, sensual stimulation makes it easier for aging brains to keep absorbing and processing new information over time. That is to say, with enhanced senses, the brain is more efficient in capturing information. This is possible because the occipital-temporal cortex essentially overrides its own programming and adapts to better accommodate written language. Brain is like a muscle, the more you use it, the better it is. 3. Allows for better skill retention Reading acts as some sort of a “shield” against mental decay, allowing the body to continue through the motions even when facing temporary or permanent challenges. Readers will have a heightened ability to retain their cognitive skills over their peers who prefer other media. These other media includes internet, television programmes and even mobile phone apps. 4. Better verbal abilities From the big picture, readers tend to display more adroit verbal skills than those who are not as fond of reading. However, it must be noted that this does not inherently render them as better communicators. Still, they do tend to support higher vocabularies, which increase exponentially with the volume of literature consumed, and may discern context faster. 5. Increases one’s stores of knowledge It makes sense to know that heavy readers tend to display greater knowledge of how things work. Of course, nonfiction obviously tends to send more facts, but i am sure fiction certainly can hold its own in that department as well. 6. Higher test scores Some students don't perform well on tests despite their prodigious abilities and the amount of effort they have put in. But in general, findings reveal positive correlation between pleasure reading and better scores. As examinations are focused on analyzing reading, writing, and verbal skills, only by reading can one achieve better results and to ace the papers! 7. Reduced stress levels According to a 2009 University of Sussex study, picking up a book could be one of the most effective strategies for calming down and to relax yourself. Refer to this link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5070874/Reading-can-help-reduce-stress.html 8. Improves thinking Fully engaged reading sessions actively engage brain parts that are responsible for thinking critically about more than just texts. By reading the line, or the read between the lines, you will need to think of the possible context and the reasons why is it so. In fact this explains this point why it helps to improve not just thinking, it's critical thinking 9. Better reasoning By reading through what is written by the author, you are actually going through the thought-process of the author. In this way, you are learning the mentality of the author when he/she is writing this. Literary intake will positively influence your logic and reasoning so long as you are reading some good material. So what are you waiting for? Or are you actually waiting for the 10th reason? Read today! 🙂