Reading regularly is one of the best things that we can do for our minds and, remarkably, our physical bodies too.
There are countless benefits of reading, from its intellectual advantages to its physiological ones, as people like the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books will understand. Nevertheless, among the areas where it can be most beneficial is when it comes to your sleep. Reading before bed can hugely improve the quality of your sleep, which undoubtedly has a massive ripple effect on the rest of our daily lives. Reading fiction triggers the same areas of the brain as dreaming does when we're in rapid eye motion sleep, the time in our sleep cycle when our body and brain heals and restores itself. Activating this area before we drift off by reading before bed helps to ease us into a deep and relaxing sleep, and there's absolutely nothing more crucial to a healthy brain than a good night's sleep to living a satisfied and healthy life.
Reading is actually helpful for you, and individuals in the market such as the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books will know that that doesn't just apply to the mind; there are a whole host of psychological effects that regular reading has on the body too. Perhaps the most powerful is its capability to help individuals empathise with others, whilst simultaneously promoting a sense of self-actualisation. Reading can also help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as promoting creativity and other imaginative characteristics, making you a much better problem solver. In this sense, reading is similar to a workout session for your brain, helping to promote strong and healthy connections that will have an obvious influence on your life.
We're told from a really young age that it is very important that we read. Naturally, that is since reading books is truly essential, not least since there's nothing more wonderful than an afternoon spent reading a book under a tree in the park, or strolling around a bookshop like those operated by the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones on your lunch break. Nevertheless, even though reading is certainly an enjoyable experience that it would be a tragedy for individuals to lose out on, it is much better for you than just the pleasure you gain from it. Books are the best vessels of history's understanding, and every library and bookshop includes millions of important lessons. It does not actually matter whether they are imaginary or factual, although one might believe that non-fiction is the very best type of book to learn something from. In fact, you can learn a lot more from a good work of fiction in some cases, although it is an extremely different type of understanding.