The Many Benefits of Reading

According to statisticbrain.com only 56% of young people claim that they have read more than ten books in a year. “When we hear that reading is “good for us” we may assume that this is because it helps our education. But reading anything for pleasure can also raise your spirits, offer an escape from everyday stresses, help you empathise with other people AND keep the brain ticking over. Reaching for a favourite magazine or book could well be good for your health” (Appleby). Reading has many benefits. The three main benefits include; health benefits, knowledge benefits, and life benefits. Parents should encourage their children to read because of the many benefits.
First off reading has many health benefits. Not only does reading help with the development of the brain in children but reading can also be very therapeutic. "It's not only what we read – but thinking rigorously about it that's of value, and that literary study provides a truly valuable exercise of people's brains" (Phillips). Researchers at Stanford did a research on people who read. They put people in an MRI machine and had them read a book while they were in the machine. The researchers found that reading increased blood flow to certain parts of the brain. Additionally researchers found that certain parts of the brain were being used that aren’t usually used in everyday life.
Moreover, it is a proven fact that reading can reduce stress. Reading is a healthy and helpful way to reduce stress. “It really doesn't matter what book you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author's imagination” (Lewis). In 2009 a study at the University of Sus...

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...mmunication skills in the future.
In conclusion, reading is beneficial to a person because it has health benefits, knowledgeable benefits, and life benefits. Finally, http://www.k12reader.com/the-importance-of-reading-comprehension said “Nearly 2/3 of students who reach the fourth grade without proficient reading skills end up on welfare or in prison.” As a result people who read can do better in life and for that reason parents should encourage their children to read because not only will it help them in school but it will also help them later on in life to have the skills that they learned from reading. Reading does make a difference in people’s lives and in today’s society reading is beginning to come something of the past, consequently the benefits that come from reading are also being overlooked. To change that people can encourage children and others to read.