Why should you read?

1. Improves brain function

There are countless researches that prove that reading increases the neural connections, making the brain work better. It’s like doing gymnastics, but for the head! In addition, a research from Emory University, USA, found that ler afeta nosso cérebro como se realmente tivéssemos vivenciado os eventos which we are reading about. 

Outro estudo dos EUA he also found that the reduction in brain function in old age can be reduced by about 30% if the person maintains reading habits, in addition to protecting against diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Reading also increases the receptivity to language in the brain – which makes it easier to learn a new language, for example.

2. Stimulates creativity

You become smarter when you read a lot, and it also improves your writing and vocabulary. You already know that. Another skill that is more developed is that of creativity: when we read a novel-style book, for example, the ability to imagine the setting in which the action takes place, in addition to the physical image of the characters, leads to the creation of another world within our heads.

3. Incites critical sense

Why is the world as it is? Why do you think as you think? Such questions are common when you start to question life and society, that is, when you start to develop your critical sense. The most incredible thing about literature is that, introducing us to different realities and times, it ends up giving rise to reflections that we might not have if we were always stuck in our daily lives and our fixed routine. Reading opens your mind, and it can make you a better person. Probably, also because of the next – and last – item.

4. Causes empathy

Empathy is a capacity that is quite lacking in the world, and basically consists of understanding and sympathizing, emotionally, with someone else. And a estudo publicado na revista Psychology Today proved that reading has this exact effect: to increase our ability to empathize. The reason is somewhat obvious: when we are reading, we connect with someone else’s reality (even if it is fictional) and we can understand what it is to be that other person. We literally know what it’s like to be in their place and what kind of feelings that person has, perhaps so different from ourselves.

Source: Guia do Estudante Abril