I find the beauty in books by using them to escape reality. However, reading goes beyond just pleasure, just like our teachers told us: reading has significant benefits. Literature has a beautiful effect on the human brain.
Reading literature and books that challenge your brain helps develop brainpower. Not only does it push your brain to work harder and faster, but it also programs a new set of vocabulary. Reading expands your brain’s natural capacity, allowing you to take in new words and definitions.
You don’t have to start out reading complex and long books, if you’re just starting to read for pleasure, find books you enjoy rather than worrying about looking studious. Reading consistently also allows you to understand complex storylines and dialogue. This means the more you read, the better you become at comprehension. Researchers and doctors are still finding new ways that reading benefits the human brain.
There are doctors around the United States prescribing certain books to help with anxiety, grief and depression. This is called bibliotherapy. Reading has vast benefits for mental illness and those who struggle with it, and it goes beyond just self-help books. Fiction also gives patients a way to connect to characters and their issues.
Diving into the fiction world will also improve your relationship and communication skills. Researchers have found that readers are better able to empathize with other people. Reading is essentially jumping into someone else’s brain and being able to understand a person’s wants and desires, which translates to real life. Social cues and hints are stepping stones to climaxes in stories, and your brain learns to pick up on them while reading and slowly learns how to do so in person.
Some, including myself, find reading to be a wonderful distraction from what is going on around us. I reduce the stress of everyday life by using my favorite book to calm my thoughts. Long-term readers report more than 70% less stress than people who do not read. Even if you are not a long-time reader and are just getting into it, 30 minutes of reading has the same effect as a 30-minute yoga session.
Whether you are deterred from reading due to past experiences, lack of motivation, or you just can’t find books to enjoy, it only takes three weeks to form a habit. There are millions of books for all preferences, and the positive effects of reading outweigh any excuse not to get into reading.