The Advantages of Reading

How It Can Benefit Your Life In the 11th century, a Japanese woman named Murasaki Shikibu wrote “The Tale of Genji,” which is considered to be the first novel in the world. It is a 54-chapter tale of courtly seduction.

Even in an era where stories appear on handheld screens and disappear 24 hours later, people all over the world are still engrossed by novels.

What specific benefits do people get from reading books? Is it just about having fun, or are there other benefits as well? The conclusive scientific response is “yes.”

The mental and physical well-being that comes from reading books can last a lifetime. They begin when children are young and continue into adulthood. Here is a brief explanation of how reading books can improve both your brain and body.
Reading literally changes your mind, according to a growing body of research. Reading strengthens your brain.

Researchers have confirmed through the use of MRI scans that reading involves a complex brain network of circuits and signals. Those networks also get stronger and more sophisticated as you get better at reading.

In a 2013 Trusted Source study, functional MRI scans were used to measure the brain effects of reading a novel. Over a nine-day period, study participants read the novel Pompeii. More and more areas of the brain lit up with activity as the story got more and more intense.

Brain scans revealed that connectivity in the somatosensory cortex, which is the part of the brain that responds to physical sensations like movement and pain, increased throughout the reading period and for days afterward.
Why parents and children should read to each other? At the Cleveland Clinic, doctors say that parents should read to their children from the time they are babies all the way through elementary school.

When you read to your kids, you help them form positive and amiable connections with books, increasing the likelihood that they will enjoy reading in the future.