What are the benefits of reading?

How important is reading nowadays?

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More than 50,000 years ago perhaps there was no concept of written words. But then 25000 years ago humans started using pictographs on clay tablets, wax tablets, and Egyptian papyrus to store information in written form. Subsequently, that system evolved between 30000 and 35000 BC, those pictographs were replaced by a cuneiform logo-syllabic script that was used in the ancient middle east.

Ancient clay tablet

The symbolic characters which were used became a writing system, however, that script was not advanced compared to modern writing systems. They could communicate about specific topics only. China then invented paper around 200 BC afterwards it became the common medium of writing books and preserving information.

Egyptian Papyrus

In the late 8th or 9th century BC the Greeks invented an alphabetical system reduced to 24 characters which are still used to write the Greek language today.

After the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, book distribution and supply skyrocketed. One estimation suggests that more books were published in 50 years compared to 1000 years. With this revolution of written language and the medium to write, humans became capable to communicate with each other through a piece of paper. Today humans speak and write in thousands of different languages.

Books were the common source of education and entertainment in the past centuries. Great writers, poets, and philosophers such as Allama Iqbal, William Shakespeare, Mirza Ghalib, and Fyodor Dostoevsky influenced the world with their words and changed people’s perspectives. As the French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher René Descartes said:

“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.”

Manuscripts and ancient books have preserved all the information such as scientific inventions by great scientists, history and legend stories by our ancestors through which modern humans know about the past. These modern inventions are based on the science which past scientists had worked on. Without the technology of the written word, no one would have known about the past and humans wouldn’t have invented technologies because there would’ve been no way to preserve the information.

21 Century's technology and reading:

“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”

~British novelist Roald Dahl

Since the 1980s till today humans have been enchanted with the power of computers and the internet. Unfortunately, technology has not been used today as it was envisioned, it was supposed to be “the bicycle for the mind”. This metaphor was used by Steve Jobs to demonstrate the capabilities of computers and digital libraries. Instead, most people are using it to kill time.

The majority of people think ‘technology has become the substitute for books and it is old-fashioned nowadays’. That’s because we have a lot of devices today together with a lot of ways to consume information and entertain ourselves and the popular one is video, it’s convenient to watch videos and movies, that don’t require any effort. Today almost everything can be done with apps on our mobile phones. Everything is so convenient that it has made us sluggish. Reading seems like a tedious task as a result there are people who don’t even pick up a book for months or a year. Though once you start reading you’ll discover the entertainment and delight behind reading.

When you read a book on a particular topic the author certainly has years or decades of experience in that particular subject or genre in which he wrote the book. So he has written all his research of years or decades in a book. Would you rather read that book of someone's decades of experience and research or would you watch a 10-minute YouTube video of someone who may have been interested in that topic or maybe just gives you some main points? Not all information is available on the internet, the need for reading books is more than before. Reading books gives you the chance to take a break from your screen and relax your eyes and mind.

A computer converts the binary digits 0 and 1 into human-understandable information. Similarly, the human brain transforms the words of the author’s narrative into imagination and imagination into thoughts.

Moreover, if you are a language learner then what’s a better way to learn the language than reading?! Reading can expose you to different cultures, ideas, experiences, and perspectives as well as help you learn the language.

“You must feed your mind with reading material, thoughts, and ideas that open you to new possibilities.”

~American television producer and author Oprah Winfrey

Reading boosts vocabulary and communication skills:

There’s no doubt that while reading you can be acquainted with new words and those new words introduce their friends to you! You hone your language skills by gaining a large vocabulary and the tone of the writing of different authors. When you read a lot of books, you get a lot of new topics to talk about because your head is filled with information, and now you’ll get excited to share that information with people around you. You start to apply those tones of different writers thus you get your own tone while communicating which develops your communication skills as well.

“The more that you read, the more that you’ll know. The more that you know, the more places you’ll go.”

~American children’s author and cartoonist, Dr. Suess

Reading reduces your stress level:

Research conducted at the University of Sussex found that ‘reading can lower your stress by 68%’. According to the research even reading for six minutes can calm down your heart rate and ease the tension in the muscles.

“Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation”

said Dr. Levis who conducted the test. This study points out that reading books calmed the stress of the participants compared to other activities such as playing games, taking a walk, or having a cup of tea. It turns out reading is the equivalent of meditation, so why not grab a book when you feel stressed out?

Reading extends your life expectancy:

Surprisingly, a study by the University of Michigan shows that reading can increase your lifetime by at least 2 years more compared to non-readers. Just like your body needs exercise to be healthy your mind needs exercise as well. Reading is the stimulation that activates the different parts of the brain, therefore, you become mentally healthy which extends your life expectancy.

Reading improves your focus:

We scroll through social media, and from one post to another, the attention of our brain changes like you taste one food and then another every minute. Psychologists point out that this is shortening our attention span. Reading is an antidote to that adverse effect on the brain. You read the words from a book slowly and focus, you can't understand if you don't focus. This improves your attention span.

Reading gains your wisdom and knowledge:

Reading a self-help book is like putting ourselves in the author’s shoes where we learn from the mistakes, research, ideas, and experiences of the author. We learn from authors’ years of experience. This boosts our self-esteem and makes us mentally stronger which in turn helps us overcome the obstacles in our pursuit of goals and success in life. You already have been through virtual experiences of your imagination while reading when you come across a situation that is similar to what you've read you get confident about that situation which helps you handle the situation.

Reading improves your cognitive abilities:

When you read a fiction book you immerse yourself in the story. You dive deep into the imagination. Your mind starts imagining the characters and the places of the story. Your mind is like heavy machinery that renders the images of the places, characters, and their actions as you read the words of that fiction book, you simultaneously imagine the story like a video playing in your mind. Your brain remembers the characters’ names, plots, and scenes. This is the stimulation activity for your brain which enhances your cognitive abilities. Psychologists suggest that reading every day can improve your memory and slow down the rate of cognitive decline in old age additionally preventing brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Conclusion

There may be many countless benefits of reading humans haven’t discovered. Millions of books are published each year in every genre with some books making millions of copies of sales. Consider reading books as your health and educational priority, go to a quiet place every day and read a book for at least 30 minutes. Habits take time to form try reading short novels it will grow your interest as you’ll imagine the story in your mind who knows maybe you’ll end up becoming an addictive reader!You can visit goodreads.com or watch book recommendations on YouTube to find the book to read.