6 Benefits You Didn’t Know Reading Has on Your Mental Wellness
What motivates you to dive into the pages of a new story? Perhaps, it’s the love of learning or the excitement that comes with escaping to far off places in the past or future. Did you know that reading can also improve your cognitive skills as well as your mental health?
In the words of William Styron, author of “Conversations with William Styron,” “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” Reading can truly take you foreign lands and allow you to walk in another person’s shoes. In that process, your brain is benefitting from the stimulation, challenge, and cognitive building that happens as you dive into a good read.
Today, we are sharing some of the benefits of reading that can have a direct impact on your mental health.
1. Reading helps stimulate the brain.
You know that saying, “You snooze, you lose.” Well, that catchy adage can be said to be true for even your reading skills. According to a study done by the American Academy of Neurology, people who read throughout their lives see a 32 percent less decline in reading capabilities. The more you read, the more you engage your mind and the sharper your thinking, reading, memorization, and processing skills become.
Another study by the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that while reading a novel, more areas of the brain lit up with activity on an MRI scan as the storyline progressed. Brain scans also showed that throughout the reading period and for days afterward, the brain connectivity of test subjects increased. Even after reading, there were changes in the brain’s resting state.
2. Reading increases your ability to empathize.
According to research from the National Library of Medicine, long-time fiction readers are adept at theory of mind skills, which allow you to build, navigate, and maintain social relationships. This concept makes a lot of sense — the more you read stories about diverse experiences, time periods, and cultures, the greater your ability to empathize with other people. As you walk in the shoes of a character, you are more able to relate to and understand the feelings and experiences of others.
3. Reading aids in the ability to process information rationally.
This includes processing ideas of ambiguity and creativity. Due to the ambiguity of fiction, readers must learn to process and accept that many stories do not have “wrapped in a bow” endings. Instead, they must use critical thinking to process the lack of closure. Thus, their ability to think rationally and creatively expands.
4. Reading increases mental flexibility.
How great are you at adapting to new information and ideas? Well, if you need improvement in this area, reading can help! One study found that reading poetry changes our brain activity and allows us to accept new meaning. In doing so, we are able to adapt our thoughts and behaviors to new information.
5. Reading helps relieve stress, anxiety, and depression.
Reading has ample benefits on your mental health including lessening feelings of stress, worry, and isolation. A study in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning found that “30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humor did.” After just a half hour spent reading, the psychological signs of stress on the brain lessen as you slowly relax and escape into a narrative.
Reading also can help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness that coincide with depression. A study conducted by the University of Liverpool found that people who read are “21 percent less likely to experience feelings of depression.” As great fiction read can help a reader struggling with depression to escape into the whimsical and outlandish experiences of the characters. Moreover, a self-help book can offer tips to improve mental wellness.
6. Reading helps you sleep better.
Put down your E-reader! The bright lights from LEDs have a direct impact on physiology and actually counteract the sleep process and the production of melatonin, the brain’s natural sleep aid. A good paperback or hardcover book, however, can aid your sleep cycle by creating a restful environment. Also, your mind functions well with routines so a bedtime reading routine will help you fall asleep quickly.
In what ways has reading helped improve your mental health? Share with us @meetcopper so we can continue to share them with our Copper Community!
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
