6 Reasons Why You Need To Read More Books

Why you should read more books

“The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.” — Mark Twain

In the digital age of smartphones, tablets, laptops and more, the less books we are reading, which is a huge shame. I’ll admit it’s only over the past few years where I have become such a massive advocate of reading. But now I can’t imagine a day going by without doing any reading. If I had one piece of advice to my young self, it would probably be to read — even as little as a page a day.

I’ve tried long and hard to think about the cons of reading, but I literally can’t think of any, the list of pros for reading is endless.

So without further ado, here are 7 short reasons why you need to read more…

1. It Reduces Stress

Reading is immensely beneficial to our mental wellbeing. Reading takes our minds out of the world and into the pages of a book. According to a widely cited 2009 study from the University of Sussex, reading helps us to relax and can reduce stress levels by up to 68%.

So, the next time you’re feeling stressed and you have a small window of time to yourself, crack a book open and do some reading. You never know, you might feel better for doing so. It might just be the thing you need.

2. It Increases Intelligence

As Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Reading a good book opens up a whole new world of knowledge. By reading more, you’ll naturally become more intelligent. Some of the worlds most intelligent and successful people are avid readers. For example:

• Bill Gates reads a book a week
• In his youth, Elon Musk used to read a staggering 2 books a day (according to his brother)
• Warren Buffet reads for an unbelievable 5–6 hours a day

It’s not to say that you need to read for hours on end every day, just try and read whenever you can because you’ll become more intelligent for doing so.

3. It’s Exercise For Your Brain

As Joseph Addison (no a relation!) said: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Reading is an integral part of keeping your brain healthy and active. You wouldn’t think twice about performing some form of physical exercise, so why would you neglect your mental exercise of reading?

Train your brain rigorously just as you would your physical self.

4. It Helps You Sleep Better

Reading a book before bed has been proven to improve quality of sleep. Reading allows you to de-stimulate your brain and put your mind on another plane, in turn, helping you to sleep better.

Instead of watching the TV before you go to sleep, maybe try reading a book. Your sleep will benefit from it.

5. It Builds Up Your vocabulary

According to a study at the University College London, teenagers who read in their spare time know 26% more words than those who never read. By building a wider range of vocabulary, the better communicator you’ll become.

6. It Will Broaden Your Perspectives

By exposing yourself to a wide array of different reading material, it’ll help you to change your perspectives about people, expose you to different ideas, as well as gain a deeper understanding of how the world truly operates.

By gaining different perspectives we can see things we were blind to beforehand. A broadened perspective will make you a better, more rounded person.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this article of why you should read more books. Hopefully it will encourage you to read more!

See you next time,

Yours Sincerely,

Tom