Reading is an essential skill used in many careers. From studying for the SAT to replying to your coworkers emails, everyone uses their reading capabilities during some part of their day. Warren Buffet reportedly reads anywhere from four to six hours a day in the form of newspapers and books. Reading is very beneficial since it strengthens your concentration, memory, empathy, and communication skills. It can help you live longer, reduce stress, and improve your mental health, allowing you to learn new things that will help you excel at your job or in relationships. Incorporating daily reading into your schedule has the potential to transform your life in unimaginable ways.
Self-Development
Reading for knowledge can help shift your perspective about life. When you read from someone successful, you learn the things they did to become that way which can help you achieve your goals. Instead of going through life-changing failures yourself, you can read about them from people who have already gone through it and learn the lessons without even leaving your home.
Reduces Stress
Reading gives you the peace and quiet to get away from the modern world. Social media platforms have taken over the world, so much that reading has become almost forgotten. Getting away from the screens can directly improve your focus and concentration while indirectly improving your communication and writing skills. When you read a great story, all your problems slip away and you seem to mentally travel to a different dimension.
Improves Memory and Analytic skills
When reading a mystery novel, your mind is compelled to predict or make educated guesses about what's going to happen. Your brain gets to connect the dots, ultimately leading you to figure out who “did it” and when. It's very enjoyable to train your brain and improve your analytical abilities just from reading. Additionally, according to one study, one of the primary benefits of reading books is that it slows the progression of mental illnesses such as Alzheimer's and dementia. This happens because reading keeps the brain active, allowing it to retain its power and potential.
Increases Reading Speed and Comprehension
This may not seem important, but reading speed is critical for timed tests such as the SAT or the MCAT. Having a slower reading speed makes it more difficult to do well on these tests which can hurt your long term goals. Reading can also expand your vocabulary which will help you immensely during those same tests talked about earlier. Also, improved vocabulary allows you to feel more confident when sitting in a group or with an educated audience. Understanding certain words could make or break your response to a critic, audience member or judge.
Further research indicates that deep reading, such as when you curl up with a good book for a lengthy period of time, improves your ability to focus and understand complicated ideas. Understanding complex ideas are rather important in certain situations like test taking, understanding a question, and or receiving critical feedback from your peers. The less you read, the more these vital abilities deteriorate.
Reading is an important fundamental skill that everyone should master; it is the most basic form of understanding and processing information. It can transform your life, help you achieve your goals, give you mental space, decrease stress and even improve your grades. In a world where everyone is using an electronic device, reading can keep you interested and stress-free.
Comments