THE IMPORTANCE OF READING BOOK
READING
WHY READING IS IMPORTANT?
Books can hold and keep all kinds of information, stories, thoughts and feelings unlike anything else in this world. Can words, paragraphs, and reading fiction be all that great for you and your health? It definitely can, and it is a timeless form of entertainment and information. In fact, for years reading was the only form of personal entertainment, and perhaps this is why it has been in the spotlight for such a long time. Reading has survived the years, and luckily, the benefits of reading books have survived right along with the books. So why is reading good for you? Reading is important because it develops our thoughts, gives us endless knowledge and lessons to read while keeping our minds active. Reading books can help us learn, understand and makes us smarter. Not to mention the knowledge, vocabulary expansion and thinking skills we develop, so read a good book today!
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LOWER LEVELS OF STRESS AND TENSION RELIEF
Most people know from experience that reading books is a great form of entertainment, but what you and those other people might not realise is that reading can help lower stress levels. You read that little fact right. The very act of it and focusing
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on the written word can help relieve your mind of anxiety and reduce your blood pressure. By pulling your mind away from the stress at hand, you can relax and let the stress levels melt away. Stress can affect many parts of your daily life, and after
long periods of intense stress levels, it can even be harmful to your overall health. Both novels, and other literature can help solve the issues that stress causes by allowing your mind and body to re-
READING CAN ENCOURAGE LIFE GOALS lax. Once you start reading books, you will start to focus, In time, reading books will provide stress relief, making you feel better mentally and physically.
Reading about someone who overcame obstacles may motivate you to meet your own goals, Ohio State University researchers found. If you’d like a raise, following a character into the boss’s office may give you the courage to make the same request. The more
you identify with a character and experience the events as if they were happening to you, the more likely you’ll be to take action. The best book quotes can even inspire you to change your life for the better. 05
Reading a book, and taking the time to ruminate and make inferences and engage the imaginational processing, is more cognitively enriching, without a doubt, than the short little bits that you might get if you’re into the 30 second digital mode. - Ken Pugh (President of Haskins Laboratories)
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ENHANCES YOUR IMAGINATION AND EMPATHY Although the enhancement of your imagination is not one of the more common benefits of reading, it can significantly increase your imagination. Consider the worlds that you are immersed to and the characters you come across while going through a mystery novel. Because of these worlds and characters, the part of your brain which houses your imagination is stimulated, causing you to imagine what the places and people look like just by picturing the words. The imagination is a powerful tool that can be useful in all aspects of life. Though it might not be considered as often, the imagination is what allows us to be empathetic with people. This empathy can help on the job or even at home. With reading being an excellent way to improve your imagination, it is no wonder that books have been a favourite for so many years.
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COGNITIVE MENTAL STIMULATION AND BRAIN EXERCISING Reading is great fun for many people, but it also has many benefits for your mental health in the form of thinking and understanding. By concentrating on the words and the storyline, it stimulates your brain and cognitive functions. This is particularly good to teach in elementary school. This sharpening of the mind will eventually heighten your focus when concentrating on something important. Elementary school students are at the age where they can benefit a lot from this mental stimulation. Regular reading doesn’t just help with your critical thinking, but it also improves your brain function. Consider what happens when you work a muscle every day. That muscle grows and becomes much stronger than before. Reading books works much the same way for your mind. Consider how many people today are affected with Alzheimer’s disease. Working your brain will make you less likely to get alzheimer’s disease. Reading doesn’t just help with your critical thinking, but it also improves your brain function.
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READING CAN BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY “When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story’s voice makes everything its own.” John Berger (English art critic, novelist, painter and poet)
Books can bring joy to your life on a daily basis. The act of reading is a great benefit both to mental and physical health, but it can also brighten your day. Sometimes, the days can be stressful and worrisome, but when you lay down at night and curl up with a good book, it lifts your spirits along with that stress and worry. Or maybe start your day or your morning commute with a book you love. From vacations to a quick moment while waiting in the carpool line, reading is an effective means of relaxation in an otherwise busy world. If you love to get up early, you should start your day with a little light reading. Your day will be just a little bit brighter, and you can breathe easy. Let books take a little weight off your shoulders so you can enjoy the things around you. Take a few moments for yourself and just read.
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If books could have more, give more, be more, show more, they would still need readers who bring to them sound and smell and light and all the rest that can’t be in books. The book needs you. - Gary Paulsen (American writer of young adult literature)
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STRENGTHENS YOUR WRITING ABILITIES Health is just one of the benefits of reading; it has benefits for other aspects of your life as well. These advantages help to make readers well rounded individuals. Whether you write things for work or just for fun, heavy reading can improve your writing skills and abilities. The best part about reading about how to improve your writing skills is there are various books written about the writing craft with information about all forms of writing. If you are a serious writer, you can read both novels or these amazing books on writing. Any form of reading can improve your writing tremendously. To improve and make writing online easier, check out our Grammarly review. 11
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ENJOY YOUR ENTERTAINMENT AND PEACE “Books are the perfect etertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” Stephen King (American author of horror novel)
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Perhaps the most well-known benefit of reading is the entertainment value of opening a book with crisp, white pages. Of course, the entertainment is typically what draws avid readers to pick up the next great book. In fact, it has been a solid form of entertainment for many years. Though reading is perfect for entertainment, there’s more to it than just the entertainment factor. With the ability to entertain and induce peacefulness, reading has been a constant comfort to people of all ages and from all walks of life. For years, this entertainment factor has been at the forefront of literature. Books and other forms of writing are still just as popular today. The peaceful state of reading has been just an amazing as the entertainment. Many great readers and writers have mentioned the benefits of reading throughout their careers, being advocates.
VOCABULARY AND KNOWLEDGE EXPANSION When reading books, you might come across a few words you don’t quite understand or even recognise. This confusion can lead you to look up the word and discover the definition. Because you didn’t know the word, to begin with, the act of searching for the definition helps your brain retain that new and exciting word, i.e. vocabulary expansion. Consider how far your vocabulary has come since you first learned to read. You now know many new words that are more intelligent sounding than when you first started your reading habits. What does this do to benefit you? Well, after several days of regular reading and looking up new words you don’t understand, your vocabulary size will begin to expand one word at a time and language skills improve.Words and phrases, if you read every day, fill your brain with a new vocabulary that you might never have learned without reading books. This is proven in this study by the University Of Oregon.
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This book taught me, once and for all, how easily you can escape this world with the help of words! You can find friends between the pages of a book, wonderful friends. - Cornelia Funke (German author of children’s fiction)
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READING MAY CHANGE YOUR BRAIN Even after you put down a book, the effects of reading it are still present in your brain. A 2013 study discovered that when people read fiction with a strong narrative and plot, their brains continue to behave differently hours and even days later. The brains of readers show increased connectivity in the left temporal cortex the region responsible for language receptivityeven hours after they’ve stopped reading. This suggests that reading can train the mind and boost neural function through a process that’s similar to muscle memory.
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HELPS WITH DEPRESSION AND DYSTHYMIA
Reading, especially self-help books, can help ward off depressive occurrences and mood disorders. Just like with lowering your stress levels, it stimulates the part of the brain that deals with depression as well. Self help books, full of information about how to better yourself and your state of mind, can help ease depression. Reading books can be extremely beneficial for someone who might suffer from depressive tendencies but not enough to need medication. Decreasing depression might seem like an odd benefit, but the stimulation of the brain is extremely helpful when it comes to easing something of this nature. The feeling of happiness that also comes from hearing stories can brighten your mood, helping your day turn from sad to happy. Of course, it is not a permanent fix for a serious problem, but it can help ease the difficulties of depression. Consuming literature works much like a pain reliever might relieve joint pain.
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“Books, a beautifully browsable invention that needs no electricity and exists in a readable form no matter what happens.� - Nicholson Baker (American novelist)
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A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.
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- E.B. White (The author of Stuart Little)
IMPROVED FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION In our internet-crazed world, attention is drawn in a million different directions at once as we multi-task through every day. In a single 5-minute span, the average person will divide their time between working on a task, checking email, chatting with a couple of people, keeping an eye on twitter, monitoring their smartphone, and interacting with co-workers. This type of ADD like behaviour causes stress levels to rise, and lowers our productivity. When you read a book, all of your attention is focused on the story the rest of the world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine detail you’re absorbing. Try reading for 15-20 minutes before work, and you’ll be surprised at how much more focused you are once you get to the office. Additional information: if you find staying focus hard and re trying to improve your focus, it’s possible you’ve been doing it wrong.
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MENTAL STIMULATION Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged prevents from losing your power by your own self Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase “use it or lose it” is particularly apt when it comes to your mind. Doing puzzles and playing games such as chess have also been found to be helpful with cognitive stimulation.
MEMORY IMPROVEMENT
Even after you put down a book, the effects of reading it are still present in your brain. A 2013 study discovered that when people read fiction with a strong narrative and plot, their brains continue to behave differently hours and even days later. This suggests that reading can train the mind and boost neural function through a process that’s similar to muscle memory.
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“When I have a little money, I buy books, and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.� - Desiderius Erasmus (Dutch philosopher)
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There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book.
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- Marcel Proust (French novelist, critic, and essayist)
READING IS AN EXCUSE TO PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY AT NIGHT If you’re too busy to read during the day, consider making snuggling up with a good book as part of your bedtime routine. Reading a physical book before going to bed is a great alternative to scrolling through your phone or something most of us admit to doing. Research has shown that smartphone use at night makes it harder for people to fall asleep and leads to an overall decline in sleep quality. Some experts say reading books, on the other hand, can have relaxing effects, making it the ideal bedtime activity.
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“There’s nothing wrong with reading a book you love over and over. When you do, the words get inside you, become a part of you, in a way that words in a book you’ve read only once can’t.” Gail Carson Levine (American author of young adult books)
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READING CAN BOOST INTELLIGENCE People who exhibit strong reading skills early in life grow up to be more intelligent. That was the finding of a study published in 2014 that measured the cognitive development of 1,890 sets of identical twins. When two twins shared the same genes and home environments, early reading skills appeared to be the factor that decided which twin would be better at both verbal tests (like vocabulary) and non-verbal tests (like reasoning tests). Because reading ability is something that’s learned, the study authors concluded that more emphasis should be placed on teaching strong reading skills to young children.
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READING KEEPS YOUR BRAIN YOUNG Digging into a good book can literally take years off your mind, according to a recent study from Rush University Medical Center as reported by Prevention. Adults who spent their downtime doing cre-
ative or intellectual activities (like reading) had a 32 percent slower rate of cognitive decline later in life than those who did not. “Brainy pursuits make the brain more efficient by changing
its structure to continue functioning properly in spite of age-related neuropathologies,” Robert S. Wilson, PhD, professor of neuropsychology at Rush University Medical Center, told the magazine.
HELPS YOU TO BROADEN YOUR MIND Books allow you to see things from a completely different perspective. Reading about a certain culture, for example, can help you to understand how that culture differs from your own. You might not
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agree with that culture’s perspective, but at least you’ll look at things from a new angle. If you were to read a book or article on the matter written by a Muslim woman, you could learn to start seeing
things from her perspective. It’s a big world out there, and reading is one way to expand your mind to all the possibilities.
“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” -Stephen King (American author of horror)
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MEMORY IMPROVEMENT
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When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. That’s a fair bit to remember, but brains are marvellous things and can remember these things with relative ease. Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways)and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short term memory recall as well as stabilizing moods. How cool is that? If you want to learn more about how to increase brain power, check out this technique!
SAVING YOUR CASH The average novel costs between RM10 (e-book) and RM15 (paperback) and takes about six hours to read, reported Weight Watchers. Compare that to going to see a few movies, spending a day at an amusement park, or eating a few meals out reading is a much more cost effective splurge for your entertainment dollars. And don’t forget your local library. 29
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I attempted briefly to consecrate myself in the public library, believing every crack in my soul could be chinked with a book. - Barbara Kingsolver (American novelist, essayist and poet)
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CAN HELP TO BOOSTS YOUR SLEEP Did you know that reading books can also help with your sleep? No, this doesn’t mean that it helps you fall asleep, but it does contribute to improving your overall sleep quality, pattern and restfulness. Reading, since it enables you to relax and de-stress, can help pull you into a deep and peaceful sleep. That sounds like it might be too good to be true, but reading can, in fact, help you fall asleep. Reading before bed calms your body and mind, especially after a long and stressful day. Even if it is just a short amount a chapter or two the peacefulness that reading induces can help slip you into a deep and restful sleep. The relaxation that books can bring is just one of the wonderful benefits of reading every night to fall asleep.
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ENSURES BETTER FOCUS Though it has been mentioned earlier about how reading books can improve concentration and critical thinking, there is another part of mental health that it helps to improve. This point is stated by NCU on their blog. Our minds are thinking of a million different things all the time. Reading at least a little each day can improve your focus and your memory function. In this instance as well, it stimulates the brain, particularly the part of the brain that helps with memory and attention. Just like with physical exercise, it is a form of mental exercise that pushes your memory and stay focus to the limits.
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How your focus improve? Your focus is strengthened because it requires focus to read. When sitting down to
read a book or magazine article, you will absolutely not understand what you are reading unless you’re focused.
STRESS REDUCTION No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well written novel can transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax.
TRANQUILITY AND HEALTH 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.
READING GIVES MUSCLE TO YOUR MEMORY Reading gives your brain a different kind of workout than watching TV or listening to the radio. Whether you’re absorbed in a page-turner or simply scanning an instruction manual for your coffee maker, “parts of the brain that have evolved for other functions such as vision, language, and associative learning connect in a specific neural circuit for reading, which is very challenging,” Ken Pugh, PhD, president and director of research of Haskins Laboratories, told Oprah magazine. The habit spurs your brain to think and concentrate.
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I believe that today more than ever a book should be sought after even if it has only one great page in it. We must search for fragments, splinters, toenails, anything that has ore in it, anything that is capable of resuscitating the body and the soul. - Henry Miller (American writer)
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CONCLUSION Why is reading good for you? Books are amazing things that canbe both entertaining and beneficial to your health. They are almost l ike tools to a healthy lifestyle. The books that you choose to read is your preference, which can range from literary fiction to romance to non-fiction. Whatever you choose to read, you can count on the multiple benefits of reading to help both your mind and body. It’s easy to enjoy books when you’re merely reading for pleasure. Heavy readers will always have a book in their hands as well. As a reader, you probably don’t think of the great benefits of reading either, but they are there even when you don’t realise it. So why is reading important? From stress relief to improved memory, reading is hugely beneficial in all aspects of our lives. Reading is a great way to improve yourself all around. So take this challenge and improve your reading habits with just one book today!
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Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers -Charles W. Eliot (Harvard’s president in 1869)
