Reading, reading, reading; for most of our early school days, our elders have sung this as a song to us repeatedly. We listened because we didn’t want to grow up a ‘dunce’ and have the other children laugh at us. As children, reading was hardly ever made to be fun, it was either a duty or punishment but never fun. Many of us have grown up with a view of reading as a chore and a minor necessity, not something pleasurable. 

Reading is fun or it can be if you find an exciting book or whatever else you choose to read. Our elders were right, apart from the entertainment value, reading is overall an excellent hobby to take up. Here are three benefits of reading that the adult in you might appreciate:

1. Improves Vocabulary

Readers are exposed to a wider variety of words than non-readers. Reading regularly not only expands your vocabulary, it usually shows context and proper usage of the words. So it’s safe to say that readers may be able to better express themselves and better articulate their feelings and thoughts. Case in point; when learning a new language it is recommended that you read regularly in that language. Why? Because doing so exposes you to more words, shows you how the language is structured, and helps improve pronunciation and proper usage of said new words. The same benefits apply to reading as a whole; you are exposed to a wider selection of words, you will have a better understanding of word meaning, context, and proper usage and better be able to express and articulate your thoughts, idea, and feelings. 

2. Improves Focus, Concentration, and Memory

This benefit is a brainy one. While it is actually an organ, the brain sometimes acts like a muscle in that it could be trained to improve certain cognitive functions such as focus, concentration, and memory. Reading can be used as one of the ways to improve such functions of the brain. This is done by focusing on the reading at hand with the intent to gather and acquire knowledge. Think about it for a minute.  Reading any material, be it fact or fiction, requires memorizing a wide number of key ideas and or characters for a better understanding of the material collectively. In some cases, these ideas, characters are presented to the reader separately and are only fused at the end of the material. See where I’m going with this? In both cases memory is required, but can only be accessed by focusing and concentrating on the material initially. So read the book that’s been collecting dust on the shelf, your brain will thank you for it. 

3. Reduces Stress

Stress is one of those words that has been thrown around a lot lately by adults. Everyone is stressed in one form or another and we know all too well how bad it is for our health. Reading can help reduce stress immensely. A study carried out by Mindlab International at the University of Sussex found that reading is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress. The study results showed that reading silently for only six minutes slows down the heart rate and eases muscle tension. Of all the stress-reducing methods tested, (drinking chamomile tea included), reading reduced stress the most by 68%, subjects even had less stress after reading than when they started.