12 Reasons Why Reading is Good For You

We have so many ways to spend our spare time nowadays. There are so many things to do, watching TV or movies, watching (and/or participating) in sports, other hobbies, but how many people read for fun? Well we are here to remind you that reading is fun! Not only that, but reading is of course good for you.

In this article, we explore 12 reasons why reading is good for you.

1. Practice makes perfect

2. Learn new vocabulary

3. Improves focus/concentration

4. Helps with empathy

5. Helps to develop imagination

6. You can learn new things

7. Exercises your brain

8. Helps keep your brain sharp as you age

9. Stress relief

10. Helps you fall asleep

11. Reading can inspire

12. Reading can decrease loneliness

1) Practice Makes Perfect

The first reason is a pretty common saying in whatever it is that you are trying to do. That is of course, practice makes perfect! The more often you read, the better you will get at it. There is nothing wrong with being a slow reader, or having a hard time understanding things. That bing said, the more you read, the better you will get at it. This is especially important for younger kids who are starting out on their journey of learning language and how to read.

2) Reading Can Teach You New Vocabulary

I am amazed that after all the books I have read and the education I have done, that I still find new words that I do not know when reading. I am constantly improving my vocabulary. Whenever I see a word in a book that I do not know, I look it up as soon as I can, so that I can understand it. Just like the reason above, practice makes perfect. The more you see a new word, the easier it will be to understand it, and eventually you will have learned a new word. Also similar to above, this is very important for younger children who are learning how to read. The best way to learn new vocabulary is to actually make use of it! As children improve their reading skills and move up to bigger and more difficult books, they will constantly be reading and learning new vocabulary. Seeing a new word used in the context of a book can make it so much easier to understand. It is perfectly fine to learn words through lists and spelling tests, but let's be honest, that is boring. The best (and fun) way to know if you fully understand something is to use it. This is where reading comes in to help teach you new vocabulary!

3) Reading Helps Improve Focus and Concentration

There are so many distractions nowadays. The average attention span has decreased so much that it is just 8 seconds. (So if you have made it this far into the article, good job!) There is scientific proof to this, as studies have shown a connection between reading skills and the ability to concentrate. When you are reading an interesting story, you never want to put that book down. When the story is enchanting, we always seem to want to read one more page. If you find it hard to make through your eight hour work day, try getting into reading more. Some jobs (like my previous one) work twelve hours a day! You really need to have a good sense of focus and concentration to be able to make it through those days, and reading can help build those skills.

4) Reading Helps Teach Empathy

When we read books, we often develop a connection to the characters in the story. Sometimes we may see ourselves in them, or see people we may know in the characters. Or perhaps we see characters that we wish we could become like. To this point, reading can help teach empathy as well. Perhaps a story features a character going through a situation, and if the character is a good role model, this could teach the reader possible ways of acting if they find themselves in a similar situation in the future. This is especially important for children reading. Many children's and young adult books will likely have characters facing scenario's that the reader may have not yet experienced, but possibly will in the future. By reading these stories, the reader may be able to see the choices the character made, and see the results of positive actions, or the consequences of negative choices.

5) Reading Helps Develop Imagination

Reading, particularly fiction, helps to develop imagination and creativity. When you read fiction novels, there is literally an endless possibility of things for the characters to get into. A perfect example of this would be fantasy or science fiction novels. When authors write book of these two particular genres, they are not bound by reality, they can make their own reality. If I wanted to write a book where time travel, or dragons, or Canadian's that dislike hockey are real, I can do this, even though of course they do not exist in the real world. By reading these type of books, you can open your mind to an endless world of possibilities through the power of imagination and creativity.

6) Reading Can Teach You New Things

This is the case if you are reading non-fiction books. By reading non-fiction books, you expand your knowledge of a particular subject. This is one of the best and easiest ways to learn new things, which is why most schools and courses require students to read from textbooks. This goes for life outside of the classroom as well. Anything you want to learn, there will likely be a book on it.

7) Reading is Exercise For Your Brain

The brain may not be classified as a muscle (I found out by reading, that it is actually an organ, not a muscle), but it still needs exercise. To help your brain grow and be healthy, you need to use it. There are not many better ways to use your brain than by reading. Reading is such a simple task, that almost anyone can do just about anywhere.

8) Reading Keeps Your Brain Sharp as You Age

This is similar to the point above. As you age, you often find yourself using your brain less and less. For example, you may use your brain in a variety of difficult tasks daily while you are working. But once you retire, and no longer need to work, there goes a significant portion of your brain's regular usage. To counter balance this, my recommendation would be to get into reading more with the free time you have in retirement. Also, as mentioned above, reading can be done almost anywhere by almost anyone. You can read even if you are sick or physically out of shape. This is great news for those in old age, as they may be less physically active than they were in their youth. This will not stop you from reading though!

9) Reading Can Help Reduce Stress

Reading can be very relaxing. Studies have shown that just a few minutes of reading each day can slow heart rates, and reduce muscle tension, both of which help to reduce stress. What better way to shut off the world and forget about your problems than to get lost in a book.

10) Reading Can Help You Sleep

Many people seem to watch TV or movies before bed. I'm sure many of us might use our phones before bed as well. What you may not know is that the blue light from these various screens and devices causes strain on our eyes and disrupts your sleep. By staring at screens, this will make it more difficult to sleep, especially if the last thing you do before closing your eyes for bed is to be staring at a screen. One of the best ways to counter this is by reading! When you read, you are not staring at a screen (unless you are reading an eBook). By reading a regular, good old fashioned, book, made out of paper, you are of course not spending your time staring at a screen. If you switch your nightly routine to make reading for a period of time the last thing you do before bed, this will prevent the blue light eye strain from being the last thing you experience before bed.

11) Reading Can Inspire

Feeling down? Recently failed something and having a hard time motivating yourself to try again? Frustrated things just aren't going your way? Try reading! Books are full of incredibly inspirational tales of overcoming tremendous obstacles. Reading stories of other overcoming obstacles is a great way to remind yourself that everyone faces obstacles, and that with some perseverance, no obstacle is too big. So get out there and read inspirational stories and stay motivated!

12) Reading Can Decrease Loneliness

Depending on where you are in the world right now, you may be in a lockdown or quarantine of some sort as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It can be hard to socialize during these times. Especially for seniors who may not be able to go out and socialize like when they were younger. Reading can open your mind and build connections to the characters in the pages. Books will often times have a character that you yourself could relate to, or have a character that is the type of person you might want to be friends with. These friends between the pages will always be there for you, whenever you want and need them. The stories these characters can provide you with cannot be taken away by any quarantine. Reading books could also bring back nostalgic memories of good times of being able to socialize.

If this article inspired you to read more, that is great news! Not sure what to read now though? Click here to head over to our Book of the Month section to find our book recommendations for each genre. Also, be sure to follow us on our social media pages!

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