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Do books improve mental health?
It can reduce stress. “Reading can even relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%.” Reading Helps With Empathy As it turns out, reading can actually help improve empathy. When people read stories about other people’s lives, it helps them develop the skills to understand the world through another person’s perspective. This is a key element in being empathetic toward others. Research shows that regular reading: improves brain connectivity. increases your vocabulary and comprehension. empowers you to empathize with other people. It increases intelligence. Exposure to vocabulary through reading (particularly reading children’s books) not only leads to higher score on reading tests, but also higher scores on general tests of intelligence for children. Plus, stronger early reading skills may mean higher intelligence later in life.
Do books improve mental health?
It can reduce stress. “Reading can even relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%.” Reading Improves Brain Function Not surprisingly, daily readers also gain more enjoyment from it than those that read less often. It can even improve memory and critical thinking skills. And activities like reading have been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Impact on empathy skills For these reasons, having a book on the go can make it easier for the reader to understand other people. So, we could agree that reading does have an impact on personality. To quote a BBC article: “people who often read fiction have better social cognition. Reading fact-filled nonfiction books can increase your intelligence by boosting your vocabulary and expanding your mental arsenal of interesting facts and knowledge. And there’s several benefits to reading. Acquiring “book smarts” can also raise your emotional intelligence, fluid intelligence, and brain connectivity.
Are books good for anxiety?
Reading is proven to reduce stress and increase relaxation. Reading books, particularly fiction, fully engages the mind and imagination. Any activity that possesses meditative qualities in which the brain is fully focused on a single task is proven to reduce stress and enhance relaxation. Reading before bed can reduce stress Similar to how physical exercise strengthens the body, cognitive exercises — like reading — are important to strengthen the mind. Strong cognitive function can help reduce mental chatter, which in turn, helps us drop into a quiet state of relaxation. All the research says reading a book is good for you. Better even than listening to an audiobook or reading one on an e-reader. It reduces stress, promotes comprehension and imagination, alleviates depression, helps you sleep and may contribute to preventing Alzheimer’s. Reading is active; watching TV is passive. Reading doesn’t just improve your knowledge, it can help fight depression, make you more confident, empathetic, and a better decision maker.