Why Should We Read Book?

Reading is good for you because it improves your focus, memory, empathy, and communication skills. It can reduce stress, improve your mental health, and help you live longer. Reading also allows you to learn new things to help you succeed in your work and relationships. But why should we read book as much as we can.

1. Live Longer

Reading is perhaps one of the most exciting and interesting: It turns out that the health benefits of reading can help us live longer.

A 12-year study on health and retirement found that those who read books survived around two years longer than those who didn’t read books or read magazines and other forms of media. Additionally, those who read for 30 minutes a day (3.5 hours per week) were 23% more likely to outlive those who didn’t read often.

Pretty cool, right?

As noted above, reading is a great way to exercise our brains to make us smarter and sharper. However, the knock-on effect of this is that reading also helps prevent age-related cognitive decline.

One study found that older adults who regularly read or play mentally challenging games like chess are two and a half times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

On the other hand, people who don’t exercise their grey matter stand a chance of losing brain power, says the study’s primary author, Dr. Robert Freidland.

No wonder the US’s National Institute on Aging recommends champions the health benefits of reading daily.

All in all, when you read every day, you’re more likely to retain your mental abilities and live longer!

2. Reading improves your conversational skills

Reading helps you clearly articulate what you want to say. The knowledge you gain from reading also gives you lots to talk about with others. I love talking to people – especially little kids – who read a lot. Their conversation tends to be deep, and it makes me grin when little ones use fancy words they found in a book.

3. Reading book improves your self-discipline and consistency

With the modern barrage of media and instant technological information, our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Reading a book, unlike skimming a web page, forces you to focus. To get the most out of a story, you must fixate on the plot and complete the book. In doing this, your brain forms deep connections and practices concentration.

4. Reading strengthens your brain

A growing body of research indicates that reading literally changes your mind.

Using MRI scans, researchers have confirmedTrusted Source that reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain. As your reading ability matures, those networks also get stronger and more sophisticated.

In one studyTrusted Source conducted in 2013, researchers used functional MRI scans to measure the effect of reading a novel on the brain. Study participants read the novel “Pompeii” over a period of 9 days. As tension built in the story, more and more areas of the brain lit up with activity.

Brain scans showed that throughout the reading period and for days afterward, brain connectivity increased, especially in the somatosensory cortex, the part of the brain that responds to physical sensations like movement and pain.

5. Builds your vocabulary

Reading researchers as far back as the 1960s have discussed what’s known as “the Matthew effectTrusted Source,” a term that refers to biblical verse Matthew 13:12: “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

The Matthew effect sums up the idea that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer — a concept that applies as much to vocabulary as it does to money.

Researchers have foundTrusted Source that students who read books regularly, beginning at a young age, gradually develop large vocabularies. And vocabulary size can influence many areas of your life, from scores on standardized tests to college admissions and job opportunities.

A 2019 poll conducted by Cengage showed that 69 percent of employers are looking to hire people with “soft” skills, like the ability to communicate effectively. Reading books is the best way to increase your exposure to new words, learned in context.