In today’s world, books as a source of information and entertainment have many alternatives. These are the Internet in all its manifestations (YouTube, social networks, blogs and other sites), and more traditional sources of content – television, cinema and radio.
However, in addition to this, there is the gambling entertainment RedDog online casino roulette, where players can enjoy the atmosphere of gambling roulette right from home.
All this makes it quicker and easier to get information than from a book. But few things can compare with the latter when we talk about self-development and benefits for the brain.
Let’s take a look at how reading affects the brain and what are its advantages over other ways of acquiring information.
Improves thinking activity
Scientists from Emory University (Atlanta, USA) claim that during reading, new neural connections are formed in the brain and entire zones are activated. This happens because as we immerse ourselves in the action of a novel, we have experiences we have not encountered before.
It forces us to analyse and draw conclusions. Getting into the intrigue, even before the climax, we assess the situation, the characters and their actions, think about options for further development of events.
Very rarely authors of fiction or journalistic works give out ready-made conclusions “on a platter”. Such presentation of information is one of the main differences between literature and the format of short posts in social networks. The latter may cause us to think, but the effect will be short.
The effect of voluminous works on the brain, according to the same study, lasts for several days after we have turned the last page of the book. This allows scientists to talk about positive functional changes in the brain.
Develops imagination
No most skilful writer can exhaustively describe the location of a novel or the appearance of its characters. There is no need to do so. The reader’s imagination itself will complete all the missing details.
The more often a person faces such a task, the more colourful and complex images will give out his imagination. As a result, he will learn to shed tears over the fiction and better feel the emotions of others.
This is confirmed by researchers from the New School for Social Research in New York. David Kidd and Emanuel Castano asked one group to read passages from A. P. Chekhov, Daniela Steele and Robert Heinlein, while the second group read only scientific articles.
Next, the participants of the study had to determine from photographs of the actors’ eyes what emotions they were expressing. The first group coped with the task better than the second.
So, reading books develops emotional intelligence and the ability to empathy.
Keeps the brain “in shape”
Researchers from Chicago’s Rush University have found that older people who like to spend time reading books are significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. In this sense, the positive impact of reading is similar to solving maths problems.
Expands vocabulary
A rich vocabulary will make you a more interesting conversationalist and can give more weight to your words. By expanding it, you will pump up your communication and persuasion skills.
Many employers pay more attention to communication skills than professional skills when looking for candidates for prospective jobs.
Building up your vocabulary is easiest by reading literature, especially poetry. Despite the fact that you are unlikely to use such words in everyday life, their perception stimulates the activity of some parts of the cortex of the brain, which favourably affects its work.
Reduces stress
You don’t have to read a novel and recall events from it to get psychological bonuses. Reading itself as a process can be calming – provided the text is not too emotional.
For example, researchers from the US asked medical school students to do yoga, watch humorous programmes or read neutral magazine articles for 30 minutes. Stress levels were measured before and after the experiment. It turned out that all three activities were equally effective.
Changes occurred at the physiological level as well. Under stress, the sympathetic nervous system is activated to cope with the critical situation by stimulating the organs.
For example, it increases the work of the heart, speeds up breathing, and raises blood pressure. After reading the magazine articles, the process of arousal reversed: the heart rate decreased, blood pressure decreased.
Reading aloud helps you relax even faster, an experiment by scientists from Korea has shown. A group of men read aloud for 3 minutes, after which their heart rate was measured. The procedure was repeated three times. Then the researchers counted a special stress index SDNN – it shows how often the heart rate changes.
Under normal conditions, the changes are constant, so the index will be high. Under stress, it is lower: the heart rate increases, and changes occur less frequently. Accordingly, an increase in the SDNN index means a decrease in stress.
After reading aloud, the index did increase. Moreover, the number got higher with each next reading.
How much you should read per day
It is necessary not to proceed from someone’s set standards, but to focus on your priorities and enjoy the process. Therefore, a question like: “How many pages should I read a day?” is not quite correct. – is not quite correct. The only thing that can be said unequivocally is that it is necessary to read.
Successful people of our time, like Ilon Musk, devote at least an hour a day to books. At an average reading speed of 25-50 pages per hour (depending on the font and complexity of the text), a small novel of 250-300 pages can be read in 7-10 days.
Thus, if every day in your routine one hour is devoted to books, then a month you can “swallow” them three or four pieces. This is more than enough for self-development.
Of course, it matters what kind of literature you prefer. Bull novels will have less effect – they are too simple, and the brain doesn’t spend much effort to master them. They can certainly relieve emotional stress, though.
For cognitive development and personal growth, it is better to read more serious literature – from the classics to contemporary published writers.
The format of the book is not important – it can be paper, audio or electronic. The main thing is that you should be comfortable.
It should be remembered that it is not advisable to read e-books (tablets and smartphones) late at night – the light from the screen suppresses melatonin production and it is more difficult to adjust to sleep.
