Gone are the days when reading used to be a hobby. Now, most people are constantly on their phones, consuming mindless content from many social media sites.
Reading, it seems, has become a lost art. Hardly anyone indulges in this activity anymore. Some might do it grudgingly and that too for their course work, but overall, the book-reading trend is diminishing.
Unfortunately, this lack of interest in books does not bode well for societies, or individuals for that matter. Reading offers many benefits, and no, increase in vocabulary is not all there is to reading. There are many potential benefits of reading, some of which are as follows:
Good for the heart
Reading has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate, so is helpful for the cardiovascular system. However, if you face these health issues, don’t abandon the prescription given by the Best Internal Medicine Specialist in Lahore; reading is no way meant to be a substitute for medical treatment.
Break from reality
Our lives are laced with different anxieties, pressures, tensions, and stresses. Granted these are part and parcel of adulting, but you do need a break from these tensions. Not everyone can simply enter Zen zone, some need to coerce their brains to stop thinking, rather, overthinking.
Reading, on the other hand, can offer the much-needed reprieve from the rut of life. For few hours or minutes, you and your book alone are relevant.
Improved personality
Reading opens the gates of knowledge to everyone, and knowledge is an expensive commodity to have.
You can read and benefit from other people’s life experiences and apply them positively to your life. This also then protects you from making basic mistakes.
Furthermore, reading also helps people be more insightful. It paves way for self-reflection. Reading also allows people to challenge their beliefs and norms. It forces people to make knowledgeable opinions over different matters.
Overall, these then contribute towards positive personality traits. It prevents people from being ignorant.
Reading encourages creativity
Creativity is an important skill to have, relevant in all spheres all of life. Reading helps in encouraging the creative skills. It also encourages people to express themselves more eloquently. Having good writing skills allows people to excel in life as well.
Reading builds comprehension
Once you start reading, the rest of the skills are easier to acquire, since it allows for easier and better comprehension. Moreover, reading also helps in improving knowledge as well.
Improved cognition
If you want to make your brain work better, perhaps leave the phone and grab the books. Mindless consumption of content, also known as doom-scrolling has a negative impact on your mental and cognitive health.
Reading, on the other hand, helps improve cognition. It aids in strengthening brain’s performance. It is also helpful for preventing age-related cognitive decline.
Essentially, as we age, our cognition and other brain functions start to decline in performance. Preventing the change entirely is not possible but delaying and decreasing it is. Reading is one such helpful way to improve age-related degeneration of the cognitive skills.
Good for managing stress
Reading is a relaxing activity. As you get lost in the world of words, you get a break from the everyday stresses. Moreover, light books that make you laugh also then also aid in improving mood.
Moreover, reading overall can be termed as a relaxing activity, unless of course you are reading something very disturbing or lacked with adrenaline, in which case perhaps you should save these for later.
Also, unlike watching and consuming content, reading takes mental effort. You have to build the scenarios in your head, imagine things. This uses your brain in a more effective way. So, instead of having head space to build scenarios that add on to your stress, you are using it to imagine the writer’s universe.
However, if your stress levels are through the roof, consult a mental health expert via oladoc.com.
