The following post was a guest post that was presented by Finn Mclaren who is an avid reader and follows all things gaming and self-improvement. You can follow his work at “GamingGeekInnovation.com”

The Ten Benefits Of Reading Books And Why You Should Start If You Haven’t

It has been proven that only about 26 percent of adult American have read a single book in the past year. Additionally, if you are in the group that is consistently reading. We have some good news for you and that science also supports. Additionally, if you are not apart of this group, it’s never too late to start.

 

1.Fiction And Open Minded And Creativity

 

Based on research put together by the University of Toronto. In which the subjects were exposed to reading short story fictions. Showed results of having far less “cognitive closure” compared with counterparts who read nonfiction essays. In conclusion, what they tested is how open-minded the compared readers were  “Although nonfiction reading allows students to learn the subject matter, it may not always help them in thinking about it,” the authors write. “A physician may have an encyclopedic knowledge of his or her subject, but this may not prevent the physician from seizing and freezing on a diagnosis when additional symptoms point to a different malady.”

 

2. People Who Read Live Longer

According to a study by Yale research that was studied across 3,635 people who are all over 50. Found that those who read for more than 30 minutes a day, actually lived longer of an average time of 23 months, (2 Years!) than those who were nonreaders. What reading does is that it helps improve cognitive engagement improving as vocabulary, thinking skills, and concentration. Additionally, reading also can help further development of empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence.

 

3. Mental Stimulation

 

A number of studies have shown that reading can work as a mentally stimulated which can slow the progression and maybe even prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents you for losing functions in thought vital parts.

Just as any part of the human muscle in the human body, the brain also requires work and exercise, in order to stay strong and healthy. Thus doing activities such as puzzles mental games can help stimulate cognitive development.

 

4. Stress Reducer

 

Life can be full of stress and things that are totally out of our controllers with things such as work, personal relationships, or countless other issues faced in daily bases. What has also been proven is that reading can help calm the mind and be able to take the mind of your present-day moment lessing tension and allows for greater relaxation settings.

 

5. Vocabulary Expansion

 

As you read more so does your vocabulary expansion will increase due to the most words that you will gain exposure to. And as this happens so will become more articulate and help for more well-spoken professionalism. And with this greater professionalism so will your self-confidence and self-esteem increase. Additionally, this can also contribute in other areas in your life such as a career aid with more well-read, well-spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often) than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and global events.

 

6. Memory Improvement

 

When reading you build greater memorization of characters backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances and the plot through the story. And what even more fascinating is that when you create a new memory your brain forms new synapses or brain wiring. And this even strengthens the existing one as well. which assists in short-term memory recollection.

 

7. Improved Focus & Concentration

 

Our days are so busy that it requires attention to be draw in various activities and tasks multi-task throughout every day. And in about a span of 5 minutes, we check our tasks such as checking email, chatting with a couple of people (via group chat, skype, etc.), and still checking our eyes on our phone and all this task cause for the brain to think about so much thinking and actually lowers our productivity.

Thus when you are reading a book majority of your attention is purpose to that one thing, thus when concentrating on one thing you will build a habit on focusing on one thing you will be surprised at how much more focused you are once you get to the office. Thus try reading for about  15-20 minutes before work to notice the differences.

 

8. Better Writing Skills

As this may go together with greater vocabulary expansion but as once explores more well-written work content, they will begin noticing the effect on one’s own writing, as observing the cadence, fluidity, and writing styles of other authors will thus invariably influence your own work. Similar to how one may watch an athlete and try to incorporate some of the athletes work ethics in order to improve themselves.

 

9. Successful People Are Readers

 

It without a doubt that though who achieve high rewards always try to read and have for greater self-improvement and knowledge. With the top most successful executives saying that they try to read 50+ books within a read compared to the average person reading only 12

 

10. Deeper sense of the world

In addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible that the subject you read about can bring about immense inner peace and tranquility.

 

Reading spiritual texts can lower blood pressure and bring about an immense sense of calm while reading self-help books has been shown to help people suffering from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses.

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