We were likely all told by our elders and our teachers that reading is a good thing. We were all probably told that we should read much more often, right?
Well, it does make sense. Reading has plenty of benefits, and yes – one of those is that reading can make you smarter!
But you’re probably wondering how this happens and what else reading can help with. This guide will explain everything you need to know.
Read on and learn more!
The Benefits Of Reading
As we said, there’s a multitude of benefits to reading – in fact, there’s so many that we need to break them down a little further! Let’s examine these benefits in much more detail.
1. Improves Intelligence (Makes You Smarter)
The general consensus is that the more you read, the more you will know. This is especially true for reading books at a younger age.
This is because you will improve your language skills, your grammar and your vocabulary. This can, in turn, help you with reading, writing and general comprehension skills.
Not to mention, if you are reading factual books – you will absorb facts and other pieces of handy information. All this will do is make you more knowledgeable and therefore, more intelligent!
2. Exercises The Brain
Much like regular physical activity will be beneficial to your health, regular reading will help to exercise your brain. This is critical in your later life because the brain, over time, will lose its functionality.
Many experts have theorized that if you can keep your brain active through things such as reading, you may be able to slow down or prevent the rapid decline of your memory.
3. Can Help Boost Your Creativity
Some experts believe that reading can actually improve and help with your creativity. Perhaps this is a response through the works of great fictional writers, or maybe it gets you thinking more about possibilities.
Whatever the case is, you can boost your creativity by reading a lot more – and this can bring more thoughts. In turn, you’re getting smarter through creative thinking!
4. Reading Helps You Absorb Information
Regular reading, as in a physical book or newspaper, can help your brain retain information. Many believe that this is through the psychological response of turning pages – which somehow helps our minds store information page by page.
This can boost our intelligence and overall make us smarter by allowing us to store more information!
5. Reading Helps You Relax And Sleep
There’s no secret that sleep is critical to our intelligence, so when we bring reading into the equation, we’re pretty much doubling our brain power!
Not only this, reading is a much better pastime to use than watching the television before bed. Studies have shown that blue lights, such as in those in an LED television or smartphone can hinder your sleep process.
6. You’re Exposed To New Thoughts And Ideas
Regardless of what author you’re reading from, reading will expose you to new thoughts and ideas, which can help to broaden your mind.
This can be really beneficial for your future and overall development – especially when it comes to social issues and politics. There’s nothing worse for a mind than to be boxed into one way of thinking, and reading can help with that.
Reading Newspapers
If you are a fan of reading newspapers (and if you’re not, we really recommend that you do!), you will be more likely to be aware of what is going on in the world and various other current events.
These might be social, political, economic or even simply about the weather. The point is, your mind is being exposed to much more information all around the world.
Over time, you may need to know this information as it might play a role in some of your decision making.
Reading Journals
Journals by scholars and academics alike will almost always make you smarter. This is not only because you will be reading complex information with a variety of secondary research, but also because you will be reading things from different angles.
Once again, this exposes you to new ways of thinking and a different outlook on some issues.
How Often Should I Be Reading?
Reading can be a hobby to do at any time, but of course – your eyes will hurt after a while, and it’s not a good thing to keep putting them under unnecessary pressure and strain.
Therefore, a few hours a day will be more than enough. It really depends on how much you enjoy reading and what you are reading.
It’s a good idea to have at least two books that you are reading ready and active. One can be much more intense, whereas the other can be for relaxing. This will allow you to absorb lots of different pieces of information and works of fiction.
Will Reading Improve My Spelling?
Reading can help you with your spelling as it can expose you and familiarize you with certain spellings of words.
Of course though, it depends on the author and if they are writing in US or UK English. However, aside from that – your spelling should benefit from reading.
This is also through your memory retention benefiting from reading, as you should be able to remember how the words were spelled when you need to use them again.
Will Reading Improve My Writing Style?
If you are a budding author, it’s entirely possible that reading can help improve your writing style! However, it will ultimately come down to you how you write, but you will certainly be able to take inspiration from other authors!
The Bottom Line
Reading can make you smarter in a multitude of areas, and the importance of reading cannot be understated!
We hope this guide has cleared things up for you. Happy reading!
I have been reading books for as long as I can remember, and have fallen deeply in love with more books than I can count!
With this site, I hope that you can find a novel to get you out of a reading slump, or to get you hooked on a series. So, pick up one of our recommendations today. I promise you that you won’t regret it!
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