Every day, I come home from school to find my 10-year-old sister on the couch reading a book. Thirty minutes a day, seven days a week.
One day, I even bothered to ask her why she’s always reading for (at least) 30 minutes a day.
That was when my sister taught me the importance of reading.
To start with, reading can be very fun and entertaining. If you’re bored, it’s easy to get lost in a good book. If you’re stressed, reading a book is a great way to get away from the real world and the pressures that life brings. Plus, books allow you to effortlessly escape your troubles by reading about someone else’s.
On that note, reading can teach you empathy and emotional intelligence. When you read about other people’s problems and struggles, it makes you stop and think about other people’s feelings. This can easily translate into the real world when you may need to empathize with your friends or family.
Moreover, reading can not only teach you emotional intelligence, but it can teach you literal intelligence. Reading can teach you all sorts of new words and phrases that you otherwise would have never heard of. If you read every day for at least 20-30 minutes, you can read at least 1 million words in a year.
Depending on what you’re reading, you can learn about almost anything. You name it, and there’s a good chance there is a book out there that can explain it to you. Despite the fact that most people don’t read them, informational texts are especially good for helping you learn about new subjects.
The list of benefits goes on about reading. It’s important, but many people fail to realize exactly why it is so important.