HOW READING IMPROVES YOUR SELF DEVELOPMENT

Increases vocabulary: 

Reading allows you to gain access and exposure to new words and vocabulary that you otherwise might not have ever heard of before. The additional vocabulary that you gain from reading will give you an advantage when you are having conversations with others and also in your overall writing skills. The more variety of books you read the better. 

If you end up discovering words that you didn’t know, you can then look up the definition in a dictionary or on the internet and you can write them down, which will help you remember those new words so you don’t forget them. 

Improves social skills:

According to a study, reading fiction books gives an individual the ability to read and understand a person’s mental state. This allows us to understand a person’s mental state. This allows us to understand how and why people behave and act the way they do. 

Reading fiction books allows you to understand the mental state of others. It also allows you to understand the mental state of yourself, which allows you to better understand and identify the flaws in yourself to improve your wellbeing. 

Cognitive skills:

Reading allows you to keep your brain active and alert as you grow older and age over time, as the older you get the more your cognitive brain functions will decline, according to the National Institute of Aging (USA). Reading every day has also been proven in another research study to improve your cognitive functioning. 

The reason why reading improves your cognitive function is that the brain needs to be used more often to function, similar to exercise. The more you use your brain the more it functions. 

Sleeping improvement:

According to research 54% of children sleep on average twenty minutes less when they are exposed to a small screen like your phone for example. Reading a book before bed can help you fix that. Reading before bed allows your body and mind to maintain a bedtime routine which will allow you to sleep longer. 

Don’t read using e-books and tablets before bed as they can keep you awake for longer periods of time and negatively affect your sleep. So, if you want to have a good night’s rest instead of using your phone to read or entertain yourself why not turn a few pages of a book of your choosing instead. 

Stress relief:

Reading relieves your mind and puts you at peace with yourself. A study done by the University of Sussex showed that people who did six minutes had a slowed heart rate and reduced tension in the muscles. The effects of reading are similar to meditation allowing you to relax yourself and your body, because your brain becomes focused on a single task as you read which reduces stress. 

Memory improvement: 

Reading can help you protect your memory and your critical thinking skills, according to a study. Reading stimulates the neurons in your brain more than when it processes speech or images. According to research from the University of California (Berkley), reading lowers the levels of a brain protein called Beta-amyloid that causes Alzheimer’s by keeping your brain stimulated cognitively. 

Reading also has been shown to reduce the rate at which your brain mentally declines as it improves your overall mental flexibility. This effect slows the rate your memory declines which will allow you to live longer. 

Morality boost:

Reading exposes you to moral values from books that are either religious or generally positive. To younger audiences, such books can teach them the importance of right and wrong and good and evil as well as allow them to read and explore how other cultures and religions explore such topics about morality. 

Knowledge is power:

A book gives you access to a variety of knowledge so if you read you learn a lot allowing you to be considered “well read” in social circles. Reading allows you to gain access to a variety of diverse topics which can allow you to enrich any knowledge you have which can strengthen your hand when you are in a situation if you are having an intellectual conversation with individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. Knowledge is power! and you must read to attain knowledge when pursuing higher forms of education such as college or university. 

Entertainment: 

Ok, hear me out, in the 21st century we are living today in the age of digital technology it might come up as odd as if you hear someone say that they read to entertain. However, books such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Twilight and even Japanese manga such as Naruto, One Piece or Dragon Ball are some of the best-selling fiction books globally.

 Reading has been a form of entertainment for thousands of years before television, radios or smartphones were even created or imagined. Reading fiction books transports you to a whole new world of adventures that play with your imagination to entertain the mind and the soul. 

 References:

The Best Brain Possible with Debbie Hampton. Information and Inspiration For anyone With a Brain. AGE RELATED DECLINE. 7 Ways Reading Benefits Your Brain (2018).

SOULVEDA. Reading for personal growth: How a reading habit can lead to self-improvement By Joy Rajat Das (2021). 

Psychology today. How Reading Can Change You in a Major Way by Sussan Krauss Whitbourne PhD, ABPP (2015).  

UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE: WHY IS READING IMPORTANT FOR GROWTH?