As reading helps improve mind and body
Health / / December 19, 2019
Reading - is not only a great way of leisureBut also an excellent tool to maintain physical and mental health. Tell, what it can be useful.
1. Increased levels of tolerance
Literary fiction, that is literature in verse and prose, helps people to be more human. It increases the level of compassion, makes us more sensitive and responsive to all others.
Fiction simulates situations that can happen to people in real life. That is why she finds a response among readers. When we read any work, then unwittingly passes through itself is what happens to the characters, and start thinking about how to behave in their place.
Fiction helps to increase social baggage and a better understanding of people whose experience is different from our own.
Kit Otley (Keith Oatley), psychologistWhat is a work of art, be it a book, a movie, a play or a TV series? This is a fragment of another's consciousness, which is like transmitted from one mind to another. Works of art enrich our social experience and help us to better understand the other. When you read a book or watch some melodrama, if you live a hundred lives. From such breathtaking.
In addition, literature has a positive effect on the brain and a well-developed imagination, because it is often left to the writers in the history of some share of understatement, that the reader can understand yourself around and think through everything in its sole discretion.
2. The development of thinking flexibility
Poetry helps to think more deeply. It increases the flexibility of thinking due to the fact that the reader throws a challenge. Poetic texts contain many metaphors and parables. This causes readers to be more attentive to detail and sense which the author puts in certain words.
Philip Davis (Philip Davis), psychologistLong experience of reading poetry leaves its mark on the reader's personality. Habitual behaviors begin to change and give way to something new and more flexible. In addition, the poetic texts are helping more and cope with depression.
People who read poetic texts, get used to rethink the words, ignore non-obvious references and pay attention to detail and halftones. Reading poetry, we can learn to better express their thoughts, to analyze human behavior, to adapt to the circumstances and more meaningful to look for troubleshooting.
3. Increasing the level of creativity
The reading process is often associated with increased levels of creativity. It is believed that people who read fiction regularly, less conservative and do not feel embarrassed because of all ambiguitiesKeith Oatley, Mihnea C. Moldoveanu.Opening the Closed Mind: The Effect of Exposure to Literature on the Need for Closure. . They are more creative and free.
The ambiguous nature of fiction encourages people to take the unusual solutions and look at the situation from a somewhat different angle. Therein lies the key to creativity. When we consider the various options for the development of one and the same situation, it becomes easier to see new possibilities and ways to solve existing problems.
4. Improving the functioning of the brain
Regardless of what literature we prefer to read, scientists had shown that after reading the book at the person for a few days slightly increased level of intelligenceGregory S. Berns, Kristina Blaine, Michael J. Prietula, Brandon E. Pye.Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain. .
Stories leave its mark in the psychological sense as well as in neurology. When we read in the brain are activated cortical regions responsible for the sense of touch, perception, and memory development. Therefore, reading is not only stimulates the increase of the level of intelligence, but also trains the brain. We learn to perceive and organize information, expand their horizons and replenish your lexicon.
5. The fight against prejudice
The good and qualitative literature can help in the fight against prejudice. When we read, then we learn to understand people of other races, cultures and religions, we learn more about life in other countries and about the customs of other eras. We learn to empathize with people regardless of their skin color or sexual orientation.
For example, a study was conducted, after which it was found that children who grew up on stories about young wizard Harry Potter, much more loyal to immigrants, refugees, homosexuals and African AmericansLoris Vezzali, Dino Giovannini.The Greatest Magic of Harry Potter: Reducing Prejudice. . Throughout the narrative, Harry Potter and his friends teach readers tolerance. It turns out that this children's book is not so simple and useless as it may seem to some.
6. Prevention of senile dementia
Reading stimulates the brain, helping it to stay in good shape until old age. If you read fairly regularly throughout life, it is likely to reduce the risk memory loss and partly to prevent the decrease in concentration.
According to studies, people who are at an advanced age to devote time to reading, were 32% less likely to develop dementiaRobert S. Wilson, Patricia A. Boyle, Lei Yu, Lisa L. Barnes.Life-span Cognitive Activity, Neuropathologic Burden, and Cognitive Aging. . Those people that were a normal life, did not have any hobbies, do not read books and do not engage in any mental activity, such successes could not brag. Thus, it appears that the more we read, the longer retain sanity.
7. The increase in life expectancy
Reading books prolongs life. According to recent studies, the life expectancy of people who are fond of reading, an average of two to three years longer than those who do not read anythingAvni Bavishi, Martin D. Slade, Becca R. Levy.A Chapter a Day: Association of Book Reading with Longevity. . To live longer, it is necessary to allocate about half an hour on it to read the literature on the day.
In order to improve the quality and length of their lives, it is not necessary to do some very difficult things. It turns out that only need to set aside some time to read.