How Reading Can Improve Your Wellbeing

Reading is an essential skill needed in every aspect of our lives, especially for people who are constant learners. Unfortunately, nowadays people have forgotten the importance of actually reading books and rely on the fact that they read enough when they scroll on their social media accounts.

People who read actual books are often seen as veterans, exactly like people who choose the retro versions of different products. If people who use retro helmets benefit only from an awesome vintage look, besides security, people who read books enjoy a lot of health and wellbeing benefits that make them better at socializing as well.

General benefits of reading

Thanks to the invention of the functional MRI, scientists have been able to observe what happens in the brains of people who read and the results were pretty interesting. 

First of all, researchers have noticed that there are some differences when it comes to reading fiction and non-fiction books and have concluded that, even though reading non-fiction has many benefits, reading fiction books can contribute to the way your brain makes connections even more. 

Reading has been shown to increase the amount of white matter inside the brain and the studies made on children have concluded that reading rewires the brain in ways that can not be made without this process.

The more white matter is present inside our brains, the higher the communication inside our brain is. Studies have also shown that reading can improve memory and the way we can use different parts of our brains.

Reading fiction

Reading a novel can be just like watching a movie. But reading does something more than that, it uses a part of our brain that is used for the visual process. It practically helps us create new images inside our brains that are projected in a part that is also used by the visual system. 

This is even more engaging than watching a movie because, first of all, the process transforms you into a creator of motion pictures inside your mind, engaging different parts of your brain that are related to creativity.

Reading fiction books is also known to make us more empathetic because when you read a novel you get into the character’s shoes and you can understand the why behind their actions more easily. Scientists say that this helps us understand the ones around us on a different level and connect to them more.

Can reading reduce our stress levels?

The answer is definitely yes. When we read, our brain is engaged in a thinking process that is not connected to our wandering system. In other words, while being focused on the information we read about, our brains do not have the time to wander around and stress about the future. 

The studies show that reading can decrease our stress levels and also make us more present.

While reading fiction, we also embark on a journey that can take us to different places and feel like we are experiencing the things that the characters in the story are living. That can make us feel less lonely and takes our minds off the small things we worry about on a regular basis.

As a conclusion

The way that reading can transform our brains is definitely a thing that we can benefit from in the long run. It can make us more creative, solve problems easier due to the different connections made in the brain and can calm us down due to the fact that it makes our brains’ hemispheres work together at the same time, similar to what meditation does.