Top 8 Ways Reading Can Change Your Life

Introduction to reading and its benefits

Sometime in the 11^th century, a Japanese author, named Murasaki Shikibu, wrote “The Tale of Genji,” which is widely believed to be the first novel written in the world.

Over a thousand years later, readers throughout the world are continually engrossed by novels – despite being in an era where stories can appear on handheld devices and can disappear a day later.

You must be wondering, “How does reading help you?” or “How can reading help you?” Another relevant question that keeps popping up is “What exactly do human beings obtain by reading books?” Is it merely a matter of pleasure or are there any benefits beyond enjoyment? The scientific answer is an overwhelming “yes.”

Reading has umpteen benefits for both your mental as well as physical health, and these benefits can be lifelong. They begin in early childhood and continue throughout the senior years.

So, what does reading do to you?

Reading strengthens the brain, increases your empathising ability, improves your vocabulary, helps thwart cognitive decline due to age, combats stress, prepares you for a good night’s sleep, helps in alleviating the symptoms of depression, and ultimately may even help you to live a long life.

Books increase vocabulary, and the answer to the question, “Is vocabulary important?” is a resounding “yes.” Thus, when it comes to “How to increase vocabulary?” the obvious answer is reading books with a dictionary by your side.

Let’s understand the benefits of reading in detail.

1. Ways Reading Can Change - Improved cognitive abilities as a result of reading

Studies indicate that mental stimulation can successfully slow the onset and progress of and eventually reduce the risks of Alzheimer's as well as dementia. The brain can be described as “use it or lose it.” Info that is rarely accessed and behaviours that are used in a seldom manner can lead to a decrease in those neural pathways until connections are lost completely in a process that is known as “synaptic pruning.” To be more precise, you may be unconsciously contributing to the decline of your brain by refusing to challenge it. Reading offers a workout for your brain and helps in keeping it actively stimulated. Thus, a good book can change your life.

2. Ways Reading Can Change - Increased knowledge and personal growth through reading

Reading essays can do immense wonders for both your personal growth and development. This is because reading essays can phenomenally challenge the reader’s perspectives and beliefs, thus ensuring optimum personal growth and development. Needless to say, reading books helps in acquiring knowledge as well as subject-matter expertise. Therefore, the best schools in Mumbai, such as Aditya Birla World Academy, give unrivalled importance to cultivating the habit of reading among their students.

3. Reading as a means of stress relief and mental wellness is another reason

Immersing yourself in an excellent book has been successfully shown to reduce your stress levels. Research conducted by Dr. David Lewis demonstrated that reading for merely six minutes each day can reduce stress levels by as much as 60%, via lowering your heart rate, easing tension in the muscles, and altering your mental state for the better. This same study indicates that reading was much better at combatting stress in comparison with listening to music, drinking tea, going for a brisk walk, or playing video games.

4. Enhanced empathy and understanding of diverse perspectives through reading

Child-development experts point out that reading can teach your kid empathy, too. Some papers successfully talked about the importance of perspective-taking to develop empathy. When children read novels or stories, they are offered the opportunity to comprehend the story from the perspective of diverse characters. Hence, we must think of reading as an efficient game of role-playing, where kids can eventually practice seeing the world through some other person’s eyes, which permits them to develop a thorough understanding of and respect for the myriad experiences of others. Thus, the best IB schools in Mumbai, such as Aditya Birla World Academy, lays tremendous emphasis on the importance of reading for its students.

5. Reading as a way to improve communication skills and emotional intelligence

Excellent reading skills can phenomenally improve your vocabulary as well as grammar, which can improve your communication skills by leaps and bounds. With the help and assistance of this skill, you can further create enhanced relationships because relationships are primarily built on the grounds of good communication skills, both written and verbal.

Why is reading good for you?

Regarding the benefits of reading, it can help you develop enhanced emotional intelligence through exposure to diverse emotional experiences, thereby helping you to comprehend as well as manage your own emotions in the right way. Reading helps in the identification and regulation of emotions as well as comprehension of emotions and the emotional needs of others.

6. Inspiration and motivation gained through reading - One of the ways reading can change

After a student has cultivated the habit of reading, there is no turning back. One of the greatest benefits of reading books is that the knowledge attained and acquired can never be taken away from individuals. Thus, developing reading as a habit serves as a source of both inspiration and motivation.

7. Development of critical thinking and analytical skills through reading

Not cultivating a habit of reading is unfortunate because literature can help students to develop vital critical-thinking skills. For example, the United States News and World Report listed book clubs among 5 useful tools to develop critical-thinking skills prior to college.

Those who read for comprehension find it extremely easy to think critically in comparison with those who rush to finish. In addition, analysing a book requires you to delve much deeper and ponder over complex questions, thus boosting your analytical skills. Hence, Aditya Birla World Academy, the best international school in Mumbai, encourages and provides an impetus to its students to cultivate the habit of reading. The same can be said of IBDP Mumbai.

8. One of the ways reading can change to expand creativity and imagination

Reading fiction stimulates us to imagine the things that we are reading. Besides, the myriad ways by which reading can boost both our imagination and creativity are quite interesting, too, and can successfully reveal other aspects of reading.

Whether we opt for the top genre of imagination (such as sci-fi) or limit ourselves to other fiction genres, the sole thing that remains the same in this scenario is that while reading, we are visualizing what we are reading subconsciously.

Whether it is flying horses, spaceships, or just the face of a specific character that the author is describing in immense detail, our brain creates a mental image of the things we are reading. This is a form of exercise for the brain centres responsible for creativity and imagination.

Conclusion and ways to incorporate reading into daily life for maximum impact

It is very important for children to read as much as possible because its effects are cumulative. That said, it is never too late to begin experiencing the immense advantages of the several physical as well as psychological benefits that await you in the pages of an excellent book.

There are several ways to incorporate reading into daily life for maximum impact. Firstly, realise that reading is extremely enjoyable, especially if the book is good. If the book is lousy or extremely tough to comprehend, it would seem like a chore. If this happens for numerous days in a row, consider swapping the book with the one that you really love or books that help you grow.