When it comes to books, it is a common thought that they can make you smarter, due to the amount of information found inside. However, these pages of wonders can boost your brain’s activity in many other ways. So whether you’re a book worm or not even a fan of books, you might need to know how books can keep your mind active. Here are the best reasons:
1. READING ALLOWS YOU TO ACTIVATE YOUR FEELINGS
If you are reading a novel and your favorite character falls in love, gets into an accident, or even dies, your emotions will be moved. Reading allows you to be immersed into the fictional plot of the story to an extent where you start sharing the feelings of the characters. Reading has been proved to increase the central sulcus of the brain, which is responsible for controlling your motor skills. If the character of the story is walking, the neurons react in the same way as if we are walking the path ourselves.
2. BOOKS STIMULATE OUR BRAINS
Mental stimulation to the brain is similar to what physical activity is to the body; the more you train it, the better shape it stays in. Regular stimulation of the brain plays an important role in slowing down brain diseases such as Alzheimer and dementia. This is because reading keeps your brain highly active during the process, making your brain stronger.
3. IT CAN IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY
Reading a book means activating several brain functions at the same time. Some of the main functions that are engaged while reading are visual and auditory as well as phonemic awareness and comprehension. While maximizing your ability to concentrate, reading allows your mind to understand the events happening and to analyze the information acquired. This is related to memory because reading engages many parts of your brain, and the more you engage these specific parts, the closer you are at developing and maintain a strong memory.
4. THE VOCABULARY LEARNED CAN GROW YOUR BRAIN POWER
Try reading in languages that you are not strongly familiar with, and these findings will convince you why. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden studied a number of students in two different majors; the first group of students is exposed to intensive language courses, while the second group is studying scientific majors. Brain scans were done before and after a three-month period of intensive exposure to courses in their field. The results showed that the first group of students, the language students, showed a growth in the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex.
5. READING HELPS YOU FIGHT STRESS
The reading habit makes it easier for your brain to relax. A good book has the ability to make you be in the character’s shoes, and feel as if you are him/her rather than you, giving up on the stressors of the day. Reading is definitely a healthy and cost effective way to relax. Read more now!
