Positive Impact of Reading: Entertainment, Leisure & Brain Development - Research Paper

Introduction

Reading is one of the earliest taught skills that is offered to children and extends throughout their lives. Reading is essential for every individual as it is utilized in the day to day activities of every individual.

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Thesis Statement: This article identifies the significant positive effects of reading which include; entertainment, leisure and brain development. The article mostly emphasizes the positive impact of reading on the human brain.

Positive Effects of Reading on the Brain

Studies show that when utilized daily, reading positively affect the brain through numerous ways such as; enabling experience of more sensations, making people more empathetic, offering mental stimulation, relieving stress, and enhancing memory (Rebecca, 2017). From a very tender age, children are taught how to read and encouraged to utilize the reading skill as much as possible.

Reading Stimulates More Sensations

Reading has been shown to increase the activity of the brain's central sulcus that is the center of all motor skills. For instance, if one reads a passage or story where the character walks along a path, the brains activity from the brain's neurons in the hippo thalamus makes the reader feel as if he or she is experiencing the walk himself or herself (Rebecca, 2017). Additionally, the concept of grounded cognition further proves that reading can put an individual in the shoes of someone else via the biology of the brain.

Reading Makes People More Empathetic

This positive effect of reading can be explained about the literary readers as they have a higher ability to empathize the emotions of others and thoughts than people who read the nonfiction books. Therefore, fiction readers are more empathetic and have an easier time understanding a situation in various perspectives through reading.

Reading Provides Mental Stimulation

Reading helps one stimulates the nerves hence making the brain cells active. Stimulation of the brain neurons regularly has shown to help in slowing the onset and progression of Dementia as well as Alzheimer's disease. Reading can be compared to physical exercise in which the more you work out, the more you get in shape. Therefore, the brain needs reading as an exercise so that it can stay alert and healthy.

Reading Reduces Stress

People become less stressed when they engage in regular reading. When an individual makes it a habit to read, the brain can relax and temporarily pilot the individual to another world hence reducing stress.

Reading to Improve Memory

When reading, one can engage many brain functions like visual, auditory, phonemic fluency as well as comprehension (Partanen, Siegel & Giaschi, 2018). Therefore, reading puts the brain into action and enables concentration hence enabling the events to happen before the reader. The more one reads, the more he or she can keep memory and remember things.

Entertainment and Leisure as Positive Effects of Reading

Reading is a form of entertainment and helps people to enjoy their leisure time. Research has shown that people who read tend to enjoy reading a book rather than watch a movie (Lana Winter-Hebert, 2018). There is the various genre of books that everyone can choose according to his or her taste. Therefore, readings a cheap and enjoyable form of entertainment that each person should try.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is evident that reading has numerous positive effects such as entertainment, improving other essential skills, leisure activity to pass the time as well as the development of young brains and acquisition of comprehension skills.

References

Lana Winter-Hebert, M. (2018). Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read every day. Retrieved from: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-everyday.html/

Partanen, M., Siegel, L. S., & Giaschi, D. E. (2018). Effect of Reading Intervention and Task Difficulty on Orthographic and Phonological Reading Systems in the Brain. Neuropsychologia. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002839321830352X

Rebecca, W. (2017). The Positive Effects Reading Has on Your Brain. Good net. Retrieved from: https://www.goodnet.org/articles/5-positive-effects-reading-has-on-your-brain/