Does Reading Improve Health

When thinking about our well being and taking care of ourselves, some things that we should do are harder than others. Reading is one of the easier ones. What follows are a number of ways in which reading can help maintain and improve health.

Reading allows you to de-stress by unplugging and escaping. In one study, reading was found to be as effective as yoga and humor in reducing subjective feelings of stress over a 30-minute period, as well as blood pressure and heart rate. Note that a good old-fashioned book or a dedicated eBook reader is the best way to do this.

Readers may live longer than non-readers. One study found that this was supposed to be due to the effect that reading has on maintaining cognitive abilities over time. In another study of individuals aged 64 and over, those who read at least once a week were less likely to experience cognitive decline than those who did not. At the 14-year mark of the study, and regardless of educational level, those who read more enjoyed greater protection. This effect is maintained into readers’ 80’s.   

Bibliotherapy, or the use of various reading materials for the promotion of psychological health, is a well-known aid to mental health treatment. Bibliotherapy can consist of any type of literature and may include self-help books, focused readings, first-hand accounts of others’ experiences, and even relevant fiction. This can be a powerful strategy and has been used successfully to reduce depression, suicidal thinking, anxiety, stress and etc.

The benefits of reading are innumerable and reading is a low to no-cost activity. Cheap and no-cost books are everywhere. Public libraries continue to be one of the most amazing resources. If you aren’t a natural reader, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Why Should We Read Literary Classics?

Many have grown up on a healthy diet of literary classics. Some literary classics have been inspiring readers in many ways. In this age of fast-turners, how does investing our time in a timeless literary classic change us for the better?

Many literary classics from yesteryear, which got little or no success when published, are considered invaluable. These books offer a window through which we can experience histories rooted in different cultures. One can always ask, “But we can do so by reading our history books too. Why do we need to read classics?” The simple answer is that these literary classics are not just a retelling of history. They allow us to have a more individualized experience, where they show us other ways to look at history.

It is common knowledge that reading as a habit helps us improve our command of the language. But literary classics have an edge: the enriching writing style is something that sets them apart. Fascinated with the amazing wording and phrasing, we’ll surely pause and wonder about what we read. For instance, when we read Shakespeare, we naturally begin to consider how to better express our ideas just like his far-reaching “Have more than you show; speak less than you know.”

One more benefit is that after reading classics, we won’t see non-classics as just other stories: we’ll become interested in them. Maybe we’ll realize that some details we ignored last time are actually worth appreciating, or we’ll discover literary devices that bring a whole new meaning to the story. Literary classics offer us more perspectives to dig deep and enhance our ability to think and reason, which will inevitably spill over into our reading of other works. We finally fall in love with non-classics as well.

Reading Is Important For Your Brain

You can take fish oil pill or go to a language class, puzzle books, or a few hours of exercise every week. There are countless methods to improve your memory and cognitive (认知的) functioning. But the cheapest and easiest way to sharpen your brain is right in front of your face. It’s called reading.

The most basic impact occurs in the area associated with language reception. Processing written material—from the letters to the words to the sentences to the stories themselves—puts our brain to work. That happens when we process spoken language, too, but the very nature of reading encourages the brain to work harder and better. And the benefits of reading continue long after you’ve put down that great book. A small study at Emory University found that some of those benefits lasted for five days. “We call that a shadow activity, almost like a muscle memory,” says Gregory Berns, PhD, director of the Center for Neuro-policy at Emory. In fact, this is how reading in a certain font can improve your memory.

However, not all reading is created equal. Results from a study conducted at Stanford University indicate that close literary reading in particular gives your brain a major workout. MRI scans of people who are deep into a Jane Austen novel showed an increase in blood flowing to areas of the brain that control both cognitive and executive function, as opposed to the more limited effects that come from more leisurely reading.

The ability to read closely is something that needs to be cultivated. An author notes that even she, someone who reads for a living, has found her ability to concentrate on the written word fading as more of what we read is on a screen. “Unfortunately, this form of reading is rarely continuous, sustained, or concentrated,” she writes.

Of course, there’s an easy solution: Turn off your phone and your computer, set aside a good hour or two—and just read.

Reading fluency is the ability to read a story with ease. It is one of the most important skills for a child to master in the early elementary years. Not only does a fluent reader make the transition to being a fluent writer much easier than a non-fluent reader, but as students get older reading plays an important role in math, science and social studies, too. If you are concerned about your child’s reading skis, here’s some advice to increase reading fluency.

Read aloud to your child to improve reading fluency. Even if your child is old enough to read by himself, it’s helpful for him to hear someone more experienced read to him. He will get a better sense of rhythm. And if you pick a variety of different styles, it will help develop an appreciation for all types of books. Meanwhile, it is beneficial for your child to gain knowledge from books, opening his eyes to people, places, animals and ideas.

Create a reading area. Give your child a place to which he can go to be comfortable while he reads, one that is filled with his own books. While it may not help with the technical components of fluency, it helps in building an overall appreciation for reading.

Paired reading is more than reading aloud. Paired reading can mean alternating sentences while you read with your child or reading aloud together Just come up with a signal to indicate when your child wants to read a sentence by herself or is stuck on a word. Reading with someone else encourages students to ty reading materials that maybe above their usual reading level, while also building oral skills.

Practice critical reading with your older child. Fluency isn’t just about being able to recognize the words and read them expressively at a good pace. It means reading with the goal of finding deep understanding of what you have read. Critical reading is a critical skill for third, fourth and fifth graders.