Able, Gifted & Talented at Hadleigh High School
WHY IS READING SO IMPORTANT?
1. Mental Stimulation:
Reading is an excellent way to stay mentally stimulated and this is vitally important to prevent your brain losing power (and can even help to prevent conditions such as Alzheimer's and Dementia later in life). The brain is a muscle that needs exercise to keep it strong - so you need to use it or lose it!
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2. Stress Reduction:
Daily life can be unbelievably stressful, in terms of work, school, personal relationships and many other issues. However just opening a good book and losing yourself in a great story can help this slip away. You can be totally distracted by a gripping novel or interesting article, which will allow tension to drain away so you can relax properly.
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3. Knowledge:
As you read your brain will absorb new bits of information which can come in handy at a later date - knowledge is power, after all! The more knowledge you have, the easier it will be to tackle future challenges. Knowledge is also something that can't be lost, so is even more important than wealth and material possessions.
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4. Vocabulary Expansion:
Reading helps to expand your everyday vocabulary - the more you read, the more words you gain exposure to. Being well-spoken and articulate is vital in any profession - it will make you more self-confident and increase your self-esteem. In addition to this people who are well-read and well-spoken often get promoted more quickly at work, than those with smaller vocabularies and less awareness of global events, literature and scientific breakthroughs. Reading books is also vital when learning new languages - your own speaking and writing fluency will be increased dramatically by gaining exposure to new words in context.
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5. Memory Improvement:
Reading helps improve your memory - when you read a book you have all sorts of things that you need to remember about the characters, such as their backgrounds, history and nuances, as well as various sub-plots - things that your brain can remember with ease. In addition every new memory you create forges new synapses (these are brain pathways) and strengthens existing ones. These help with short-term memory recall and mood stabilisation.
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6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills:
Many of us often get to the end of a mystery novel, having already solved the mystery - this is due to our critical and analytical thinking which has sorted through all the details provided. This skill also helps to critique the plot to evaluate whether the novel was well-written with developed characters, so you can discuss the book with other people effectively as you have considered all of the aspects involved carefully.
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7. Improved Focus and Concentration:
We find ourselves multi-tasking through every aspect of the day - workng on a task, checking email, chatting via social media, checking our smartphones and interacting with those around us. This type of behaviour lowers our productivity and causes our stress levels to rise. However when you read a book all of your attention is focused on the story - you can fully immerse your self in it so the rest of the world fades away. Starting the day by reading for 15-20 minutes will make you far more focused for the rest of the day.
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8. Better Writing Skills:
We all know that reading expands your vocabulary, but exposure to well-written text has an impact on your own writing style, which will be influenced by observing the fluidity and cadence of other authors. This is the same reason that painters use techniques already established by previous masters, and musicians are influenced by others.
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9. Inner Peace:
Reading a good book goes hand in hand with relaxation, but it is also possible that the actual subject matter can bring about inner peace and tranquility, for example reading spiritual texts can lower blood pressure and increase a feeling of calm, and those suffering from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses are often helped by reading self-help books.
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