Reading Your Way To A Healthy And Stress-Less Life!

As the digital age sets in, many people nowadays don’t really read books. We have smartphones and any information you seek is just one (Google) search away. Social media encourages one-way communication, generates idle brains, and as a result, people grow lazier by the day. People cut down on their reading so much so that reading becomes a chore, until one day when they completely stop. However, the simple act of reading itself plays an essential part in our lives and affects our mentality too.

“The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping-stones.”

– Enid blyton, Mr galliano’s circus

My grandfather inspired me to read. He instilled in me a love for reading ever since I was a toddler. Until now, I still have that love for reading, and I thoroughly enjoy it. One of my favourite authors was Enid Blyton, who wrote a whole series of children story books. She wrote over 7,500 short stories in her lifetime. I believe that the habit of reading should and can be cultivated from young. If you are one of those people who don’t have this habit, then you are really missing out. Read on to find out how reading affects you…

What Are Some Benefits Of Reading?

The benefits of reading are just countless. Reading affects your brain and mindset, your health, your mentality, and your stress levels. Here are some facts you may not have known about…

1. It Improves Your Brain’s Condition

When it comes to your brain, reading is a superfood. Reading improves your thinking skills and your analytical skills, helping you brainstorm and solve problems with more ease. It improves your memory capacity, helping you to retain your memories. Fun fact: Every time you create a memory, your brain forges new synapses (brain pathways and connections) and strengthens the old ones. The stronger your synapses are, the better your memory is. So it certainly is a true fact that enjoying a good read improves your memory.

Reading improves your focus and concentration, keeping your mind straight and focused on your work. Plus, it enhances your vocabulary and increases your knowledge. Your brain activity is enhanced every time you indulge into a book, and it increases your spatial intelligence. Spatial intelligence is basically how you interact with and estimate distances and directions, and it helps in activities like map reading, building, planning, and sports.

2. It Improves Your Overall Health

Neurological studies (studies concerning your brain) have shown that reading can affect your brain’s health. Surprisingly, keeping your brain mentally stimulated can slow down the process of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia or possibly even prevent it. Just like the other muscles in the body, the brain needs exercise to maintain its well being. Reading certainly is a good exercise to keep your brain healthy and active. Burying yourself in complex texts like poetry promote mental flexibility, and therefore, avid readers are more likely to seek creative solutions rather than just being led by instinct and habit. What’s more, reading helps you stay away from mental decline, exercising your mind whenever you read.

3. It Lowers Your Stress Levels

We face stress everyday. Maybe because of work, or school, or family, or relationships, or financial problems. So people have found ways to reduce stress and reading is one of them. The pace of life is so fast, and there are so many distractions at every turn. Finding something to relieve the stress is essential. A study on a group of volunteers was conducted by a UK-based research company, MindLab International at the University of Sussex in 2009, and found that reading for six minutes a day reduces stress by sixty-eight percent. As such, one of the best ways to lower stress was enjoying a good read rather than spend time playing video games or scrolling through Instagram.

When you are stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. The role of cortisol is to help your body deal with various stressful situations. However, when your cortisol levels are elevated for too long, it can cause high blood pressure and have a few other bad effects on your body. This is why you should often de-stress, and enjoying a book is one of the best ways to do so. Books can be a giant stress reliever, but of course there are other ways to relieve stress. Indulging in a book helps you sleep, too.

Conclusion: Why wait? Reading Is Indeed Your Brain Booster

Reading is a very good habit and hobby to have. Besides improving your mentality and your brain, it can play a big part in your life. This stress relieving activity is not just for leisure and entertainment, but also for the pursuit of knowledge and to keep your brain active. Health is improved and stress levels decreased when your nose is buried in a book, so why don’t you start now? Pick up a book and start burying your nose in it.

Trivia – Did you know that you can actually rent books?

This article is part of Espoletta’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives.