A Saturated Self-Improvement Habit You May Be Underestimating
And why it’s one of my daily go-to's.
I wouldn’t have classified myself as a bookworm until I read the following statistic the other day:
In England, 31% of adults don’t read in their free time, rising to 46% of young people (aged 16 to 24). — Readingagency.org.uk
Fine, I get that some kids don’t read, and the technology that grows at the speed of light makes other things to do more appealing. But I still wrongly assumed that reading would at least make the cut in the top 5 or 10 of a “hobby-forming” listicle. It doesn’t — in fact, reading comes it at suggestion #21.
*shakes head*
I was even more shocked to read the following statistic, from the same source:
Around 5.8 million people (16% of adults) in England and Northern Ireland score at the lowest level of proficiency in literacy (at or below Level 1).
&)D&$W£^£H%LF?!?!!!
I was gobsmacked to see that, in an economically developed first world country in the 21st Century, reading is a struggle for *millions*.
I felt so disheartened — how has this issue not been highlighted? What are we missing here, in the UK? How in a country filled with abundance and opportunity, is reading not something that is instilled in children and nurtured like other habits throughout life?
I felt compelled to write about the benefits of reading — because its power is so vastly talked about that in the end, it’s an obvious miss.
So here’s a reminder as to why you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you don’t pick up a book for just 30 minutes a day.
The Great Benefits of Reading
The world literally becomes your oyster when you are looking for a book to read. There are millions upon millions of books out there to choose from.
I don’t know about you, but this is one of my favourite parts. Looking over at the bookshelf or the list on your Kindle shop, the possibilities seem endless. This is when you become aware of your mood and are feeling to either enhance it or change it. If you’re sad, you will pick a comedy to cheer you up or a sad book to channel it. If you’re into crime and sci-fi, the list is endless.
I am currently reading 4 books at the same time. One is about finance, one is about conformity, one is about love, and the last a drama fiction. I read the more educational books in the morning when I first wake up because it grounds me and gives me great focus on my goals, and they inspire me to write.
I read the love book or the fictions at night when I’m looking to unwind and relax before bed.
I can go on all day about why I love reading, but I also know you don’t have all day to read my article, so here is a list of 5 benefits of reading:
- Reading physically strengthens the brain.
- Reading inspires learning.
- Reading opens the mind.
- Reading enhances your sense of empathy
- Reading expands creativity.
Reading Strengthens the Brain
The brain is just another muscle in your body. When we read, we are exercising our muscle and strengthening it.
“Using MRI scans, researchers have confirmed Trusted Source that reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain. As your reading ability matures, those networks also get stronger and more sophisticated.” — Healthline
Fascinating isn’t it?!
We all have good and bad habits for our bodies, and our minds. Many of us work hard to maintain as many good habits for ourselves, and we can do the same to empower our brain. We can be more selective with our reading, for instance, and choose to ingest useful and/or entertaining information that enhances our sense of wellbeing rather than damage it.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” — Richard Steele
Reading Expands Creativity
If it wasn’t for reading, I wouldn’t want to write. It is because of the feeling I get when I’m reading that I love writing. I want to give that same feeling to millions. I wouldn’t be creating content if it wasn’t for the copious amounts of reading I do day in day out.
“With a film or TV show, you’re given the visuals whereas with a novel you’re inventing them yourself, so it’s actually much more of a powerful event because you’re involved,” Berthoud for a BBC Culture event at Hay Festival.
When we are reading fiction, we are literally putting together images in our mind of the characters and the scenes described to us. Not only are we are learning to become more creative through the use and expansion of our imagination, but we are also learning to be creative with words.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” — George R.R. Martin
Creative people find opportunities hidden everywhere, and they use those opportunities to help them achieve their goals.
Reading Inspires Learning
There are many ways one learns, but the first step is always to read on the topic that you want to discover.
Reading is the first lesson.
You cannot ask for a mentor’s help to get your business started without having first read up on the topic of business. There are many steps you need to take in order to start and grow your business, but first, you must read and learn the subject.
“Learn to read to read to learn.”
Literally, everything you read is consumed by the brain. Something you read in a fiction novel might set off a train of thought in you that motivates you to do research on carpentry. Then, you might get the idea to learn how to build a house. This might lead you to read about real estate, and 10 years later, you could be the city’s biggest real estate investor.
Reading Enhances Sense of Empathy
Reading enables you to travel through different worlds in your mind. When you get a real suspension of disbelief, when you really are in the protagonist’s shoes and you’re feeling what he’s feeling, you’re actually strengthening your emotions of empathy and care for others.
A BBC article spoke about research conducted in students who read the first chapter of a novel called Blindness by Jose Saramago, where the author describes the protagonist waiting at the traffic lights in his car when he suddenly goes blind. Then, a passer-by promises to drive his car home but instead steals it. The study showed that:
“When students read the story, not only did their empathy levels rise immediately afterwards, but provided they had felt emotionally transported by the story, a week later they scored even higher on empathy than they did right after reading.”
Reading triggers the feeling of empathy and allows it to grow in the long term, which can affect how you see others positively, and even cultivate your sense of fulfilment.
Reading Stabilises Your Mood
Feeling anxious? Rather than scrolling through your phone to feed your curiosity and check your notifications, pick up your book first thing in the morning. It’ll set you up for the day.
Reading can immediately boost your mood in the short term. Healthline talks about research conducted in 2009 where it was reported that,
“30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress”
There is a proven correlation between reading books and reducing negative feelings of worry and depression in the long-term, too. According to the Reading Agency,
“Non-readers are 28% more likely to report feelings of depression, and about 1.3 million people in the UK say they rarely read because of depression.”
It is a catch-22, because to break out of that cycle, no one can make the first step to get out of it but themselves. Reading might just be the first of many steps that gets people off that plane of depression.
Music and reading are my go-to’s when I am feeling low. They are my instant gratifiers and my immediate mood lifters. For me, losing myself in a book has a way of taking me away from the issue for enough time to gain a sense of calmness, which helps me look at the issue with a more objective mind.
In addition, if I have an issue that is bothering me, I try my absolute best to skip the anxiety and get straight to problem solving mode.
And what is the first thing one could do to try to solve a problem?
Research solutions.
How?
Reading.
Takeaways
Reading is another well-known life hack that many just don’t actively practice for various reasons. But there are great benefits you can take from reading and apply to actively better your own life.
Reading actually physically strengthens the brain and improve its health.
Reading can help a mind become more curious about the world and increase creativity — another lifehack that helps successful people find hidden opportunities that ultimately sets the path to achieving goals.
Reading enhances the sense of empathy, a key virtue that has been proven to positively impact relationships and physical and emotional wellbeing.
Picking up a book can help stabilise your mood by restoring a sense of peace and calmness within you, allowing you to look at problems in a more objective manner.
Reading can reduce negative feelings of anxiety and depression. We are all busy, but we all have the same amount of time in a day — 24 hours. We just all choose what to prioritise, some more consciously than others. I have always loved reading, but I take a more deliberate approach today because I want to control what I consume for learning and for entertainment.
“Read to lead.” — Elon Musk
Sylvia Emokpae, thinker and philosopher, is passionate about self-love, motherhood, and pro-race. See more work like this.
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