Are you a Book Lover? Check out these Amazing Facts about Reading

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body -Joseph Addison.”

Did you ever give a thought that reading could not only boost your cognitive skills but may also contribute to your emotional and mental health? From increasing memory and empathy to improving your sleep, reading can help you manage your health better.

It is proven that reading silently for only six minutes has been shown to reduce heart rate and ease muscle tension. Actually, that small amount of reading worked better for relaxation than other proven methods such as listening to music, going for a walk, or sipping a cup of tea.

If you’re already a bookworm? Pat yourself on the back, because you’re already contributing to better life quality.

Have you heard about Bibliotherapy?

A versatile and cost-effective method recommended by doctors, therapists and social workers. They use fiction and self-help books as a therapeutic tool to reduce symptoms of physical or mental illness and personal distress. This technique is known as bibliotherapy and has been used to treat everything from panic disorders and insomnia to weight gain and stress due to hospitalization.

Let’s dive in to know some unknown facts which also give health advantages:

• Enhances Vocabulary – Studies show that children learn 5 to 15 percent of their words from independent reading and, as a consequence, children who read more generally have larger vocabularies. The same can undoubtedly be said for adults as well.
• Stronger Conversational Skills – A study was conducted with college students where the adults that completed high volumes of reading had better verbal fluency than their peers. These verbal skills and increased knowledge with a good vocabulary helps you have way more interesting convos—and there’s not much better in life than a good chit-chat.
• Improves Sleep quality – Developing a habit or a routine that you follow every night before bed can improve your chances of getting a night of good sleep. Try reading a chapter or two of a book to help you unwind before you hit the sack. Make sure it’s a real book if you can, not an eBook because the principles of good sleep hygiene recommend that all screens should be kept away an hour before bedtime.
• Increase life expectancy – Regularly reading, even for just 30 minutes a day has been shown to add two years to your life. You heard that right — developing a habit of reading for just a half-hour per day can make you live years longer.
• Reduces Stress – Think only a cup of green tea is the best way to de-stress? Reading for six uninterrupted minutes is actually much more beneficial. A research carried out at the University of Sussex found that listening to music reduces stress levels by 61 percent, while having a cup of tea reduces by 54 percent and taking a walk by 42 percent. But reading? Almost 68 percent! So next time, instead of taking a smoke break take just six minutes to unwind with a good book.

Reading has been shown to provide other facts which are as follows:

• Preserve brain health and lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
• Alleviate anxiety and depression
• Delays cognitive decline due to ageing
• Help you fall asleep
• Boost happiness and overall life satisfaction

Footnote

Even if you are not an avid reader, you can now plan to become one looking at the innumerable benefits reading has. You can feel safe in the knowledge that your pastime is providing a wealth of benefits for your health and well-being.