4 transformational benefits of Reading

One of the activities which has increased during this lockdown–according to my very unofficial survey amongst friends–is that people are reading more.

This always makes me happy as I love the concept of reading–even though I've not always been good at it. But the more research I do into brain science (and I'm currently half-way through a 6 month course studying the neuroscience of digital distraction), the more I see how activities like reading actually shapes us, how we act and react. How it develops our character, improves our mental health, and can greatly impact our cognitive abilities later in life. So let's look at a few of those benefits.

4 Benefits to Reading

#1 You can better relate to other people

Reading increases empathy. With almost every book you read, whether it's a novel or biography, or on personal development or history you are entering the world of another person. With a novel it's more obvious. You're seeing the world through the main characters, aswell as the authors view of that world affecting how her characters operate. Of if you're into history, you will be seeing the authors perspective on that area of history. 

You are taking yourself away from your own perspective for that moment and stepping into another's shoes – you're developing your empathy.

A worrying issue however is that studies on children in the US have shown that reading on screens slows down the growth of empathy. The more kids can read from physical books the more they will be able to understand and relate to others.

#2 It increases your focus and concentration

How would you like to be able to focus more; to concentrate for longer? Sounds great doesn't it? Well, the answer is to read more, and to do that we need to retrain our brains.

Picture the scene. You pick up a book you've wanted to read for ages. Excitedly you read the first few paragraphs. Then you realise you've not remembered a thing. You re-read it, then again. And again. It's like you're seeing the words, making out the sentences but it stops at your retina. It doesn't get to your brain. Then you think what's the point, put the book down and switch on iPlayer. Familiar with that scene? You're not alone.

Because we are so prone to distractions, the concept of 'deep reading' – very similar to Deep Work that I discussed a few weeks ago, has become so alien to us. Reading an easy book, a popular non-demanding novel is one thing–though still good for us–but reading something which challenges us, that demands more cognitive resources, is something many of us need to retrain our brains to be able to cope with.

Instead of giving up, if we persist, slow down, focus on understanding each sentence asking what the author is saying, it will help. The more you do this, the better you get. I can attest to this personally, as in the last few years as I've gotten back in to a reading habit, I read a lot of books that mentally I would have struggled with previously before. A side effect of regular deep reading is that our ability to stay focused and concentrated in other areas of life is increased.

#3 It improves your memory

Being more focused and concentrated, giving our brain a work out, extending our cognitive muscle has good benefits for our memory too.

Just think about the skim reading you do when reading on the internet. So often it's difficult to remember what we've read. In fact studies show that we remember more of where we were reading the article than what we read. For example, if you read a story about Coronavirus on an internet news site, then later on someone asked you about that topic, your brain will automatically go to where you saw the article i.e. the website, rather than what the information in the article actually said.

The reason for this is that we regularly outsource our memory to our devices. Our brain thinks, 'well I don't need to remember this as it's easy to access on the internet.' So we don't remember, which then makes having a conversation about it difficult–we keep thinking, 'Yes I read about that. I just can't remember what I read!' This means we struggle to learn as our brain doesn't have the information to make the connections which is what increases our ability to memorise moving items into our longer term memory.

Focused, deep reading from books will help to generally improve your memory. Additionally, I now tend to print specific articles I want to read so my brain doesn't link it to a specific website, but to the information itself.

#4 It can help to keep Alzheimers and dementia at bay

Leading on from improving your memory, some other discoveries within neuroscience show that reading–along with other mentally stimulating tasks will stave off the onset of diseases such as Alzheimers and dementia.

The authors of a particular study involving 294 men and women in their 80s found that those people who had participated in mentally stimulating activities such as reading, throughout their lives showed a slower rate of cognitive decline than those that hadn't.

Their encouragement: "Read more books, write more, and do activities that keep your brain busy irrespective of your age."

Conclusion

If you want to relate to other people more; to increase your focus and concentration; to improve your memory and stave off the onset of your mind going later in age, I encourage you to get reading. Join a book club, or reading room (I currently host one for some local readers), or just set up regular reading times yourself. I tend to read first thing in the morning, at lunch time and then before bed. Perhaps if there's enough interest, I can post more details of my weekly reading habits. Let me know.

If you're stuck for what to read next, check out my book list here. I'd love to know what's on your reading list. Let me know in the comments.