readingkids

The Huffington Post conducted a poll to gauge the amount of reading that Americans engage in on an annual basis. What they found might surprise you. They discovered from a sample of over 1,000 respondents that 28% of individuals did not read a single book during the year. There are myriad benefits that come from reading. Here are several reasons to read daily.

  1. Increase Your Vocabulary
    This is kind of obvious, but the more you read, the more exposure you receive to new words. These words have a way of finding their way into your everyday parlance. Expanding one’s vocabulary range has been linked to increased self-confidence, not to mention an individual’s level of intelligence.
  1. Better Writing Skills
    Reading daily provides you with opportunities to absorb numerous forms and styles of writing. It is common for individuals who read frequently to adopt the writing styles of the authors they read into their own personal writing. In most cases, this helps improve readers’ ability to write well.
  1. Expand Your Imagination
    Reading regularly helps you open your mind as you visualize the dialogue and situation various characters encounter. Reading daily has been linked to increased creativity, and has the ability to help you make applicable applications of stories to your own life.
  1. Improves Your Memory
    Whether you read nonfiction or fiction each day, your mind is forced to remember numerous characters, situations, and settings. Recalling this information—whether to retell it to a friend or family member, or to pick up in the story where you left off—requires that your brain’s synapses make strong connections. One of the reasons why people who live long, healthy lives are often so mentally aware and fit is because they have taken the time to read regularly.
  1. Changes and Improves Your Mood
    Reading can be a peaceful activity; it is something that requires your full attention and often without the numerous distractions that occupy our lives. By reading daily, you will no doubt experience increased enthusiasm for life, and feel calmer and less stressed than you might have been otherwise.
  1. Improves Your Relationships
    One of the principle things many readers gain from reading regularly is empathy for their fellow human beings. As you read about characters in varied life situations and circumstances, you gain an appreciation for the human experience and for the joys and difficulties that people face. In turn, this often helps readers in their personal relationships with friends and family alike.
  1. Inspiration to Achieve Your Goals
    Depending on the type of reading you are doing, reading about characters who achieve their goals or who accomplish difficult tasks will rub off on you in your personal life. You will likely feel inspired to make something more of each day, and to achieve greatness during your life.