Reading takes us to worlds we've never seen, introduces us to people we've never met, and imparts emotions we may not have felt before. Reading also provides various health benefits. Is your fellow reader an avid reader? Reading has many benefits and may not be clearly known. Well, this article will discuss 5 benefits of reading for our lives, according to Blog Solahart Handal.

1. Reading can reduce stress.

The first benefit of reading is reducing stress. In 2009, scientists assessed how various activities reduce stress levels by measuring heart rate and muscle tension. Reading a book or newspaper for just six minutes can reduce a person's stress level by up to 68 percent. Wow, that's huge, isn't it. In fact, this effect was much greater than taking a walk (42 percent), drinking a cup of tea or coffee (54 percent), or listening to music (61 percent). The ability to completely immerse yourself in reading is what makes reading the perfect way to relieve stress.

 

Then, do fellow readers have a certain time to read? If not, let's take a few minutes a day to read and immerse yourself in it.

 

2. Reading can increase age.

The second benefit of reading is to increase one's age. A team has conducted research on adults over the age of 50 years. They found that people who read, specifically reading books for 30 minutes a day, lived nearly two years longer.

 

Apparently, reading books can also provide a longer life for readers. How, does this second reason make you want to read a book more and more every day?

 

3. Reading can improve language skills and global knowledge.

The third benefit of reading is that it improves language skills and global knowledge. A study conducted research to assess the relationship between cognitive skills, vocabulary, factual knowledge, and exposure to certain fiction and nonfiction writers. They used the Author Recognition Test (ART), which is a test with the most accurate results to determine a person's reading skills. The average result of the study was that those who were avid readers had about 50 percent larger vocabulary and 50 percent more fact-based knowledge.

 

The research proves that reading can affect your vocabulary as well as global fact-based knowledge. The way the human brain works is likened to a snowball effect. The more words you learn, the better your ability to read and understand, including other areas unrelated to your expertise.

 

4. Reading can increase empathy.

The fourth benefit of readers is to increase empathy. An institute conducted a study in 2013. They examined a group of volunteers who read literary works in the form of fiction and those who did not. In five experiments, those who read literary fiction performed better on the tasks. They are able to predict how others will act and identify a person's emotions through the facial expressions they display. This proves that reading can improve a person's ability to understand the mental state of others, or what we often know as empathy.

 

If we interact with other people who are difficult to predict and understand, we need humility in dealing with them. Reading allows a person to be humble towards others. Thus, those who like to read will not experience deep difficulties when they have to deal with individuals who have high complexity.

 

5. Reading can increase creativity and flexibility.

The fifth benefit of reading is to increase creativity and flexibility. In real life, we often feel like we have to make a decision. But sometimes we close our minds to information that can actually help us. Well, reading fiction trains us to have an open mind, that way we will always be able to face the uncertainties that occur in our lives.

 

Reading, especially reading fiction, can increase productivity and creativity.

This was evidenced in a study of 100 people who were assigned to read a fictional story or a nonfiction essay. The participants then filled out a questionnaire meant to assess their level of cognitive ability, how they could reach conclusions quickly and avoid ambiguity in the decision-making process. Those who read fiction showed more flexibility and creativity than those who read essays.

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