…it’s scientific!
There are so many benefits from reading. There are no two ways about it, reading is good for you, and published research has proven this claim many times over, but just in case you are still not sure, here are six benefits of reading that should make you want to delve into a book on a daily basis from now on…
Reading improves your communication skills by building your vocabulary, which has a direct impact on how effectively you are able to communicate. When you read, you regularly access a whole wealth of words that will help you accurately describe how you’re feeling, help you explain your point more clearly, and even make you more creative in your story telling.
As your brain is a muscle, reading literally exercises your brain which means that the more often you use it, the sharper it will become and the longer it will stay that way. Research has shown that mental stimulation, like reading and word puzzles, can help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Reading can make you a more empathetic person because it expands our capacity to understand that different people have different beliefs and helps us to accept and understand how these differ from our own. This skill is vital for maintaining healthy social relationships, particularly in children. Fiction in particular can help develop this important skill, because you are required to relate to the characters and their emotions in order to really engage with the story line.
Reading helps reduce stress. It’s hard to beat the relaxing sensation of getting lost in a really good book. A 2009 study by the University of Sussex found that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 68 percent, although the ideal time spent reading for optimum well-being is said to be a minimum of half an hour a day. The key to this is to read for pleasure, not for work or school.
Reading can help you sleep better. In our busy modern lives we all know how important it is to get enough sleep, and it turns out that reading before bed can help you fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply, so bedtime is an ideal time for adults and children alike to wind down with a book and notch up their daily reading minutes.
The Barrow Hills School library is currently open three lunch times a week for children to come and bag a floor cushion or a perch on the comfy sofa to catch up on some quiet reading of their favourite books and enjoy the benefits of just reading for pleasure, or to borrow books for reading at home.
Mrs Emmett, Librarian
