The Health Benefits Of Reading Books Compared To Reading From Screens
In Brief
In
the age of information we are being bombarded left, right and center
with quick facts, fake news, censored information, video images and so
much more. This is greatly affecting the span of our attention. To many
the idea of picking up a book, when we could just as easily listen to
it, or read segments on our phones is completely absurd. However, there
are many benefits that come along with reading books that just might
make it worth it to you.
Consider just the very act of reading a
book in itself, holding it, turning the pages, seeing your progress in
the development of the story, it’s almost as if you are a part of it.
Benefits Of Reading Books
Reading requires patience and diligence,
which is not something required from a glance and a click on a quick
headline. Reading a book is almost a kin to running a marathon for your
brain, I mean if you can finish a whole book!
Reading stimulates imagination and creativity.
Research has shown that reading helps with comprehension and emotional intelligence as well as fluid intelligence — meaning the ability to reason and have flexible thinking. This leads to smarter decision-making regarding yourself and others.
As we age, our memory will decline, but regular reading can help keep minds sharper longer according to research published in Neurology. Frequently exercising your mind was also proven in that same study to lower mental decline by 32 percent.
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“Our study suggests that exercising your
brain by taking part in activities such as these across a person’s
lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health
in old age,” study author Robert. S. Wilson of the Rush University
Medical Center in Chicago said in a statement.
“Based on this, we shouldn’t underestimate the effects of everyday
activities, such as reading and writing, on our children, ourselves and
our parents or grandparents.”
Reading can help make you more
empathetic — researchers from the Netherlands designed two experiments
showing that people who were “emotionally transported” by a work of
fiction experienced boosts in empathy,
“In two experimental studies, we were
able to show that self-reported empathic skills significantly changed
over the course of one week for readers of a fictional story by fiction
authors Arthur Conan Doyle and José Saramago,” they wrote in their findings.
“More specifically, highly transported readers of Doyle became more
empathic, while non-transported readers of both Doyle and Saramago
became less empathic.”
Even More Reasons Read Books
Aside from these deeper reasons to read books, here are some more basic ones:
Books are a lot easier on the eyes than
screens, which will provide a nice break for many of us as we are
spending an increasing amount of time staring at screens at work, at
home, on our smartphones while watching Netflix — your eyes could use
the break.
One survey
of 429 university students revealed that nearly half had complained of
strained eyes after reading digitally. Electronic books can cause screen
fatigue, which may lead to blurred vision, redness, dryness, and
irritation. With print books, you don’t have to worry about any of that.
If you are reading an actual book, there
is less of a chance that you will be distracted compared to reading on
your phone. A book has no notification pings, buzzes or pop-ups, and you
can ensure this distraction free time by leaving your phone in another
room or putting it on silent or on airplane mode while reading.
Another great thing about books and the
wonderful byproduct of less screen time is less exposure to
electromagnetic frequencies, if you don’t have your phone on you, and
perhaps you even have your Wi-Fi turned off while not in use you are
giving your body a bit of a break from the constant bombardment of these
frequencies.
Reading books before bed can help you
sleep better, the main reason being — they do not emit blue light, or
any kind of light at all actually, which has been shown to interfere
with a good night’s rest. Not only that, but personally I find in
general, reading a book tends to make me sleepy, so I enjoy reading a
few chapters before putting my head down for the night.
Who doesn’t love the smell of a good
book? You know that lovely, kind of musty smell old books give off? Or
the fresh, crisp paper smell of a brand new book?
Final Thoughts To Consider?
Will reading books become an outdated
thing of the past? Or will we be able to stand by the benefits of books
and keep collecting them for generations to come? Only time will tell!
To finish off, I’ll leave you with some words of wisdom from the late,
great, Dr. Seuss,
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss
Much Love
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