Book Worm
‘A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one’
– George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons
Books are slowly being replaced by tweets, Facebook updates or online blogs. If you are one of the countless people who don’t make a habit of reading regularly, you might be missing out. The benefits of reading are highly understated. Books are slowly moving with technology & now, there are a number of ways to sneak reading into your busy lives. With appliances such as the Kindle, it makes the whole experience much smoother and easier, not to mention creating an electronic library to read your favourites back. The benefits of reading are endless, so here are just a few reasons why you should put down your phone and pick up a book:
- Reading books is a great stress reliever; losing yourself in a good book helps you slip away from the struggles of everyday life for a short while. A well written book can transport you to other realms. The University of Sussex found that reading is the most effective way to overcome stress, surpassing listening to music, enjoying tea or coffee or taking a walk.
- The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenge you’ll ever face. Knowledge will always be with you. Those who are well spoken and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly and more often than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs and global events.
- Reading helps you sleep better. Bright lights, including those from electronic devices, signal to the brain that it’s time to wake up, meaning reading your book is a better bedside bet than a laptop.
- ‘No two persons have ever read the same book’. Reading improves your imagination. This quote highlights how the worlds described in books will always differ amongst readers. By reading a description of a place or event, your mind is responsible for creating that image inside your head, instead of having the image placed in front of you when you watch television.
