The importance of daily reading

By Amrita Prasanna

Reading is an engaging, enthralling, and constructive habit. There are lots of positive benefits that readers can derive from this practice.

Reading books, articles, newspapers, etc. can improve your cognitive functions. It stimulates your brain and improves your concentration, memory, and analytical skills. If you are stressed, reading is a good way to escape from reality.

It can take you to the past or future, a mythological or a fictitious world. Reading boosts your creativity and imagination. Who knows, one day you might even be writing your book.

Reading books is not only a source of entertainment but they also help in improving your vocabulary.

You must keep a dictionary beside yourself while reading. There will surely be words that you will barely understand.  If you learn 2 words every day to increase your vocabulary then you will end up learning around 730 words per year.

Improved vocabulary will have an impact on your oratory skills and confidence. And you will win accolades from your teachers, parents, friends, and maybe even the Principal of your school.

Books are also a source of knowledge. You can read different types of books based on your choice. Biographies and autobiographies highlight the struggles of great icons, Classics help us to understand the life and thinking of people at that time, Fables convey lessons, and Fiction deal with futuristic concepts.

Newspaper, which is delivered to your doorstep every day, is one of the best sources of general knowledge.

Reading supports academics as well. Reading books related to curriculum topics improves our understanding of the concepts. Reading helps you to focus all your attention on a story or an article and allows you to take in all the details that are presented to you. This will help you to increase your focus. With better focus, you will be able to give more attention towards your studies which will help you to improve your grades. Reading also helps preserve vision and doubles your recall of speech.

As the saying goes “If you rest, you will rust”. It is proven by scientific research that by keeping your brain stimulated through tasks like reading can slow down the progress of aging, or even eliminate disorders linked to old age such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Just as you must exercise to keep yourself fit, your brain also must exercise or it will become dull. If you read, even for 10 minutes per day, your brain will remain fit and fine.

With so many benefits, it is needless to say that we all must develop the habit of daily reading. Fun fact: Focused readers are fast readers, possessed of agile minds. They can impress everyone with their quick wit and sharp memory.