“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Joseph Addison
What’s great about taking the time to read a little, on a daily basis, is that it doesn’t take a huge time commitment to make a big impact.
When we read, not only are we improving memory and empathy, but research has shown that it makes us feel better and more positive, too. Science has shown that reading has some amazing health benefits, including helping with depression, cutting stress, and reducing the chances of developing Alzheimer’s later in life.
When you read, you’re engaging more than a few brain functions, such as phonemic awareness, visual and auditory processes, comprehension, fluency, and more. Reading jolts your brain into action maintains concentration, and allows your mind to process the events happening before you. Keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing power.
Reading can also give you a welcome respite from the stress of a current, seemingly intractable, problem, perhaps offering a refreshing alternative perspective especially if it is unrelated to that issue – such as in a novel, offering almost immediate relief from that stress. This can help you re-evaluate your priorities by making that problem not as all-encompassing and overpowering as it first seems.
Moreover, reading a well-written piece will not only help you expand your own vocabulary, but it can also improve your writing style.
Just reading for 10 minutes, once or twice a day can really add up over the course of a task or project, or a year and to say nothing of a lifetime.