It makes us intelligent, broadens our horizons, stimulates our imagination - we know that. But whoever regularly reaches for a book has many other advantages. That's why reading is healthy!
No sooner have we finished school than books end up in the corner.
Many stop reading when they no longer have to. Finally, more time for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. But this is a miserable idea. Instead of challenging and nurturing our brain, we entertain it with videos, photos, apps and TV.
But we are not doing our brain any favors by doing so.
Today I'd like to show you why it's worth picking up a book more often. Reading is healthy, makes you sexy and smart.
Discover the benefits of daily reading here. No matter if hardcover book or Kindle - reading is healthy!
Table of contents
- 1. reading reduces stress
- 2. your vocabulary grows
- 3. reading is healthy for the brain
- 4. books improve memory
- 5. reading is healthy for better concentration
- 6. you develop analytical skills
- 7th study shows: People who read live longer
- 8. books make intelligent
- 9. reading makes you rich
- 10. reading makes sexy
1. reading reduces stress
Even if it sounds stressful for you at first to have to read now too - once you've found a really good book, you'll love it and not see it as stress.
Instead of the evening TV or obligatory swipes through Insta and Co, you can relax with your reading.
A novel transports you to another life, a thriller makes your heart beat faster, and a mystery makes you a detective. What all books have in common: You escape from everyday life and enter another world.
And already the worries of the day are forgotten, this provides deep relaxation and calms you on all levels.
Often, through books, we also learn to see our own problems from a different perspective. And suddenly the solution to the problems is quite clear.
This is how you can relieve stress!
2. your vocabulary grows
According to an estimate by the Duden editorial team, the German language comprises 300,000 to 500,000 words. On average, a native speaker uses 15,000 words and about 3,500 foreign words. So there's still a lot of room for improvement, isn't there?
The more you read, the more words enter your vocabulary. By the way, a word must be read or heard at least 7 times before we add it to our vocabulary.
This is also the reason why you should regularly reach for books.
While we browse through a book, we automatically build up our vocabulary. That's why reading is healthy for our expression and our brain.
If you want to give your brain a special challenge, pick up an English book and make sure that the language sentence doesn't get rusty.
3. reading is healthy for the brain
Did you know that reading keeps our brains young and efficient? According to some studies, regular mental stimulation even delays or even stops the progression of Alzheimer's and dementia.
If you treat your brain to exciting stories, you can slow down the loss of mental abilities. Books stimulate the imagination and make you think.
That's why reading is healthy for every age. It's also never too late to start again.
Researchers suspect that reading makes the brain more resilient. While we skim magazines and newspapers, a book immerses us much more deeply in thought. This promotes quick thinking and protects against age-related cognitive decline.
4. books improve memory
In order for us to follow a fact in a book and draw conclusions from the words we read, our brain must be constantly active. We need to understand the characters, their actions and their intentions. Tangled stories want to be deciphered, details memorized.
In order for us to succeed, our brain forms new synapses for these memories. We can then retrieve them and improve our general ability to remember things through reading.
5. reading is healthy for better concentration
Do you also have problems with attention or concentration? Then you should learn to read a book regularly. In this day and age, we find it increasingly difficult to focus our attention on one thing.
We are constantly flooded with new information. We want to be everywhere, see everything and find out what our friends are up to. We swipe through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and forget to concentrate.
If you want to put an end to it, open a book and turn off the TV and cell phone. Get completely involved in the action of the reading. Just 30 minutes of reading can greatly improve your attention and help you in other areas of your life.
Forest bathing helps to switch off in nature!
6. you develop analytical skills
Do you like detective stories? Then you train your analytical thinking with every sentence you read. This can be very useful in many areas of life. You learn to pay attention to details, to put yourself in the shoes of the characters and to understand their actions.
Once you've finished reading a book, it's worth looking for opinions on the Internet and comparing them with your own. Where do you agree? What do you see differently?
When someone asks you for your opinion, try to look at different angles. That keeps the brain on its toes.
7th study shows: People who read live longer
More than 3,600 men and women over the age of 50 took part in a study at Yale University. The researchers found that all those who read a book for at least half an hour a day over several years lived an average of two years longer.
It didn't matter at all whether the books were novels, thrillers or nonfiction. And also exciting: Those who read a book for more than three hours a week have a 23 percent lower mortality rate than those who only reach for the newspaper.
8. books make intelligent
There's a study on this, too. In 2013, researchers at the New School in New York City found that book readers show more empathy than newspaper readers. They are more open to other cultures and more accepting of other opinions than non-readers.
Every book can bring something new. Historical novels bring history to life, a mystery novel turns us into forensic investigators, and a romance novel puts us fully into other roles. Each time there are different characters and characteristics that want to be explored.
In most books, no matter what the genre, there is a grain of truth and wisdom. You can learn a lesson from the plot, you learn that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and that not everything is always as it seems at first.
Therefore, reading is healthy to expand our mental horizons.
9. reading makes you rich
And it's not just experience that tells you whether someone likes to read, but also their bank balance. At least that's what the statistics of a study in the Econmic Journal say. Five thousand men and women born between 1920 and 1956 were asked about their reading habits in childhood.
It showed that those who voluntarily read more than ten books when they were young had an average 21 percent higher salary later on.
If you look at really successful people, this picture is confirmed. From investment guru Warren Buffet to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, they all read a lot in their childhood and still do today.
10. reading makes sexy
Why is reading healthy and sexy? Do you know the Instagram account "HotDudesReading"? Here it quickly becomes clear that reading books is really sexy.
1.3 million people follow this account. What you get to see here? Photos of reading men who actually look very attractive through the book. Unlike guys who only look at their smartphones.
Incidentally, this was also shown in a survey by the dating agency Parship. According to the survey, reading men are much more attractive to women. The book conveys an image of an intelligent, articulate and well-read man.
Our conclusion
Reading promotes vocabulary, general knowledge, emotional intelligence and much more. That's why reading is healthy for our brains and can even keep diseases like dementia at bay. Pick up a book regularly if you want to stay mentally fit and reduce stress.
So, what are you still reading today?
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