The impact is much more significant on those who read literary fiction as opposed to those who read nonfiction. So to reap the benefits of a good read, opt for the kind with physical pages and maybe one of the best books out there.
Those who who engage their brains through activities such as reading, chess, or puzzles could be 2. Research suggests that reading can work as a serious stress-buster. One study by Sussex University researchers showed that reading may reduce stress by as much as 68 percent. Reading a real book helps you relax more than zoning out in front of a screen before bed.
Screens like e-readers and tablets can actually keep you awake longer and even hurt your sleep. That applies to kids too: Fifty-four percent of children sleep near a small screen, and clock 20 fewer minutes of shut-eye on average because of it, according to research published in Pediatrics. In papers published in scientific journals in and , he showed that as both younger and older adults improved their performance on working-memory tasks, they were better able to comprehend reading materials.
A third type of intelligence has gained widespread interest of late: "emotional intelligence", the ability to accurately read and respond to your own and others' feelings. It may seem odd to imagine that reading can improve your emotional intelligence. But in October, the journal Science published an extraordinary study showing that reading literary fiction can improve people's theory of mind ToM — their ability to understand others' mental states.
David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano , both of the New School for Social Research in New York, enlisted hundreds of participants online to read examples of either non-fiction, popular fiction or literary fiction, and then to take tests measuring the accuracy of their ToM.
In five experiments, they showed that reading literary fiction led to better performance on tests of both emotional and cognitive ToM compared with reading non-fiction, popular fiction or nothing at all. The study did, however, contain a glaring omission: it failed to measure the extraordinary impact of Spider-Man by that great literary genius, Stan Lee. Can reading make you smarter?
There is evidence that reading can increase levels of all three major categories of intelligence. I believe my discovery of Spider-Man and other comic books turned me into a straight-A student. If "smarter" means having a larger vocabulary and more world knowledge in addition to the abstract reasoning skills encompassed within the concept of intelligence, as it does in most laymen's definitions of intelligence Stanovich, ; Sternberg, , then reading may well make people smarter. Certainly our data demonstrate time and again that print exposure is associated with vocabulary, general knowledge, and verbal skills even after controlling for abstract reasoning abilities as measured by such indicators as the Raven.
Abstract The studies reported here represent the first steps in the development of a new research paradigm for studying the unique cognitive correlates of literacy. Books can also help you work toward anti-racism. Check out our reading list for recommendations. When you recall your last English or literature class, you probably remember a few deep and meaningful literary works — some more interesting and relevant than others.
No matter how you felt about those assigned books, simply reading them may have had some positive effects on your ability to empathize or understand the emotions and perspectives of other people. Research from suggests literary fiction has more benefit for enhancing theory of mind, or the skills that help you create and maintain strong interpersonal relationships, than popular fiction or nonfiction.
One possible explanation may lie in the fact that literary fiction allows you to explore the thoughts and experiences of others. When you read, you accompany characters as they make choices that shape their lives and identities, but you can learn from their mistakes without facing the consequences of those actions. This skill can boost language abilities, certainly, but it could also factor into your ability to problem-solve in other areas of life.
Plus, reading printed books can also help you absorb the rules of written grammar and improve your spelling. Listening to audiobooks, on the other hand, may help you get more familiar with the pronunciation of unknown words.
Reading can fuel your imagination by allowing you to envision and explore new and different worlds, real and fantastic. An expanded imagination can, in turn, boost creativity, making it easier to find new and unique solutions to the challenges that come up in everyday life. Nonfiction works like self-help books, and how-to manuals offer a relatively straightforward approach to solving problems.
You may not always get the right answer on the first try. Still, the imagination and creativity you might develop through reading can help you brainstorm new ideas for solutions that support your needs and those of the people you love.
Books put knowledge directly into your hands or ears, in the case of audiobooks. Yet all the knowledge in the world may have little benefit when you have trouble remembering or processing new information. Reading can make a difference here, too.
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