Did you know that reading is really good for you?
Search on why some of these people (Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Les Brown, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg) succeeded in their lives, and you will find that READING has played a major role in their success. Here are five compelling reasons to start reading books today.
If you read books, you live longer
According to Yale University, reading affects longevity. People who read books on a continuous basis live two years longer than people who don’t regardless the gender, social status, health, and wealth.
“This finding suggests that reading books provide a survival advantage due to the immersive nature that helps maintain cognitive status,” said the study’s authors. Book readers have a 23-month survival advantage compared to non-book readers. This is thanks to the fact that reading promotes empathy and enhances emotional intelligence – and cognitive process that can lead to a longer life.
Deep reading promotes empathy and emotional intelligence – cognitive processes that can lead to a greater chance of survival, the report explained.
You grasp a lot from a physical book than any source of information
There are several studies that suggest that learners grasp more information from paper than from screens. One study in Norway showed that learners who read printed texted scored better on reading comprehension than learners who read digital materials.
Reading books helps you develop the 21st-century skills
There is a plethora of evidence that shows that living in a book-oriented environment has an incredible impact on educational achievement. Research shows that growing in a house within which there is a library, boosts critical thinking skills, strengthens memory and retention, enhances adult literacy, numeracy, and technological problem-solving.
These skills are very important at this age. World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report shows that there is a great shift towards softer skills that can be improved, in part through reading.
4. Reading enhances your vocabulary
Along with developing your emotional intelligence and other cognitive skills, reading is a great way to broaden your vocabulary and lexicon.
Dawna Duff, J. Bruce Tomblin, and Hugh Catts in their case study have shown that “above average readers experienced a higher rate of vocabulary growth than did average readers and that differences in vocabulary development affect academic achievement.”
5. Reading protects and exercises your brain
Exercising your brain every now and then is very healthy and can help you reduce many brain diseases such as Alzheimer. Challenging yourself through reading books more often than not, can be the best thing to do. In fact, scientists have uncovered the first evidence that intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself, creating new white matter that improves communication within the brain. (Check study here).
Go grab a book, right now.
Reading is so useful. Hopefully, this post changes your ideas about reading. And those of you who are readers, keep up the good work.
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