The world’s first novel, “The Tale of Genji,” a 54-chapter tale of courtly seduction by a Japanese author named Murasaki Shikibu, is thought to have been written in the 11th century.
Even in a day when stories arrive on handheld displays and vanish 24 hours later, people are still fascinated by novels more than a thousand years later.
What benefits do people specifically gain from reading books? Is it just for pleasure, or are there additional advantages? Yes, without a doubt, according to science.
Your physical and mental health will benefit from reading; these advantages can last a lifetime. Early infancy to senior years is when they start. Here’s a quick explanation of how reading books can improve your health and brain.
Reading improves brain function.
Reading alters your thoughts, according to a growing corpus of study.
Researchers have verified by Trusted Source that reading includes a sophisticated network of circuits and messages in the brain using MRI scans. These networks also grow stronger and more refined as your reading skills advance.
In a 2013 Trusted Source study, functional MRI scans were performed to assess the brain’s response to reading a novel. Over nine days, study participants read the book “Pompeii.” As the story’s stress increased, more brain areas lit up with activity.
Brain scans revealed that during the reading period and many days later, there was an increase in brain connections, particularly in the somatosensory cortex, the brain area responsible for processing physical feelings like pain and movement.
improves your capacity for empathy
Speaking of feeling pain, studies have found that readers of literary fiction, or works that delve into the inner lives of characters, have a greater capacity to comprehend the thoughts and feelings of others.
This capability is known as the “theory of mind,” a collection of talents necessary for creating, navigating, and upholding social interactions.
While reading literary fiction in one sitting is unlikely to provide this effect, studies have revealed that regular fiction readers have more fully formed theories of mind.
increases the vocabulary
The Matthew effectTrusted Source, named after the scripture in Matthew 13:12 that states, “Whoever possesses will be given more, and they will have an abundance,” has been examined by reading researchers since the 1960s. Whoever lacks will have everything taken away from them.
The premise that the wealthy get richer and the poor get poorer is summarised by the Matthew effect; it applies to vocabulary just as much as it does to money.
According to research, students who frequently read books at a young age gradually grow vast vocabularies. Additionally, the quantity of your tongue can affect various aspects of your life, including standardized test results, college admissions, and employment prospects.
According to a 2019 Cengage research, 69 percent of employers are eager to hire workers with “soft” talents, such as the capacity for good communication. Reading books is the easiest way to expand your exposure to new terms in context.
What ought you to read?
What then ought you to be reading? Whatever you can get your hands on is the brief response.
In the past, librarians who traveled over the mountains with saddlebags full of books were the only source of information for isolated areas. But today, that’s scarcely the case. Large libraries stored on smartphones and tablets are accessible to almost everyone.
If you’re short on time, spend a few minutes each day writing a blog post about a specific area. Fantasy or historical literature can take you out of your current environment and into an entirely new one if you’re looking for an escape.
Read nonfiction advice from someone who has already made it if you’re on a career fast track. Think of it as a mentoring relationship you may take up and leave whenever it works for you.
Remember: Don’t read exclusively on a smartphone. Browse physical books as well.
Studies have frequently demonstrated that readers of print books do better on comprehension tests and retain more information than readers of the same material in a digital format.
That could be partially explained by the fact that people read print material more slowly than digital materials.
