We live in a more distracted world than ever before. Life wasn’t always that way. Your caveman ancestors had their lives on the line every day. While survival was at a premium, they had nowhere near the stressful, hectic living environment we have today.
You’re probably happy that you don’t have to fight for your survival daily as your earliest ancestors did. That’s truly something to be thankful for. On the other hand, the paleolithic people in your family tree might opt for their danger-filled lives rather than ours if given the option to choose one over the other.
The average person receives thousands of marketing messages every day. Spend 10 minutes browsing the web, and you’re exposed to over a hundred pop-up ads, textual links, marketing images, graphics, videos, and advertisements. They assault your senses whether you realize it or not.
This saps your focus and ruins your productivity. It creates continual stress that causes mental and even physical health issues. One way to combat this constant barrage of information, so you accomplish more daily is to simply read more.
Reading Improves Concentration and the Ability to Process Information
Reading requires that you process letters and words, phrases and paragraphs. Your brain instantly turns groups of letters into information it understands. This is an ongoing and automatic process.
It requires a lot of mental work. The benefit is that your ability to focus and concentrate on something improves. The more you read, the better you become at focusing on any task, whether it involves reading or not. Any time you boost your brainpower, it can help you whenever healthy brain function is required.
Imagine that your boss gives you a task that needs to be accomplished by the end of the day. He realizes you’ve never done this work before. Because of this, you are provided with all the relevant information and resources to help you get the job done.
If you’re an avid reader, your ability to learn, process, and use brand-new information is sky-high. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t read regularly. A Pew Research Center Survey reports that 23% of Americans failed to read a single book in 2013. Despite the well-known benefits of reading, a lot of people don’t.
The Benefits of Reading Help You Get the Most Out Of Each Day
We already discussed how improved concentration and the ability to process information are two of the biggest benefits of reading regularly. Did you know you can reduce your daily stress levels just by reading? And readers live an average of two years longer than non-readers.
Reading before bedtime helps you fall asleep. That can provide next-day energy that makes you more productive. Finally, reading also prevents cognitive decline as you age. This means getting the most out of your day in the golden years of your life.
There are lots of reasons to read more often. One of the benefits is making better use of the time you’re given every day, so you accomplish the important things in your life.
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