Modern times come with numerous wonderful things, but the reality is that, sometimes, they put us under a lot of stress that can oftentimes be extremely challenging to cope with. In these instances, people have a tendency to look for some sort of escape, that’s going to allow them to enter new, non-realistic worlds.
You can do so through music, movies, TV shows, and books. Many people think that reading books is by far the best way to uncover these new worlds, and concurrently, set off on an interesting adventure.
Unlike movies or TV shows where you can literally see what every character and place looks like, in books, you need to rely on your imagination to create these things. And that makes everything even more enjoyable and interesting.
If you’ve never been a major bookworm, then maybe once you go through this article, you just might conclude that reading fiction is one of the best things you can give to your body, mind, and soul.
You’ll Become A Lot More Compassionate
No matter how hard you try, at times, you may find it difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a variety of different reasons. However, if you want to become a lot more compassionate, then you can use fiction to change things for the better.
How come? Avid readers at Shag Story would like to remind you that when you are reading any fiction story of any genre, you enter the lives of the characters that continuously experience positive and negative things. Through every page, you become an inseparable part of their lives.
You get a feeling as if you literally know them, and, at the same time, care about them too. Various studies have concluded that imagining stories activates areas of the brain that are responsible for empathy and perceiving the world and people in general from a brand-new perspective.
Furthermore, when you are reading a particular story, the more you read it, the more you become attached to the characters, and you get the feeling as if you are experiencing the same feelings and sensations as them.
Two scientists from Washington University scanned the brains of two individuals who loved reading fiction, and uncovered that they developed intensive, graphic mental simulations of the movements, tastes, sounds, and sights they encountered in the book.
So what does it mean? In a nutshell, it just goes to show that they behaved as if they were truly going through all these events that were described in the fiction.
You’ll Become A Lot More Creative
It’s safe to say that fictional stories are a perfect source of creativity. Since it encourages imagination, it stimulates you to think of various interesting and useful ideas and take different possibilities into consideration.
Detailed descriptions, unique characters, and engaging stories fuel creative thinking. When people read fiction, they get a glimpse of entirely new concepts and realities, and even situations that may help them in real-life situations when they are unsure how to solve a specific problem.
Generally speaking, fiction provides you with a new, fresh perspective and insights that are completely different than what you’ve had so far in real life. Encountering them is going to give you the opportunity to envision various inventive solutions and strategies that you haven’t thought of before.
It Also Influences Analytical And Critical Thinking
Fictional books are a mixture of creativity and observation of real-life experiences. Out there, you will stumble upon various metaphors and various other figures of speech in different stories that express deep and meaningful things.
It allows you to comprehend the literal meaning it has while, simultaneously, processing its hidden meaning. All of this positively impacts your critical and analytical thinking. While you are reading, you are concurrently gathering different details and events that are showcased in the book that are going to help you properly visualize everything that’s presented in it.
There are various books that are full of interesting and complex characters, such as Harry Potter that won’t be able to understand right off the bat. However, as time goes by, the more you read it, the better you’ll understand their behavior and their reactions to numerous situations.
A lot of people who have read this book claim that it has positively impacted their critical thinking. Therefore, if you’ve only seen the movie, and you haven’t read the book, then you should definitely give it a try to see whether it’s going to impact your analytical and/or critical thinking.
It Influences Decision Making As Well
Another benefit that you may not be aware of is the fact that it can also impact decision-making. How come? Psychologists suggest that whenever you have trouble making a well-informed decision, you should take into account all the information that may potentially influence your decision, while, at the same time, thinking both inventively and rationally.
Most people are generally very impatient and are prone to reaching for solutions that are going to enable them to make fast decisions. Although this seemingly looks like a good thing, if you do things hastily in these types of situations, you will most likely overlook various relevant and accurate information that may help you make a much better decision.
Researchers who conducted a study a couple of years ago concluded that those who read fiction (in comparison to the ones who would rather read non-fiction) have drastically reduced their chances of making fast, irrational decisions.
What’s interesting is the fact that this effect was even longer for those who were reading fictional books on a regular basis.
One Of The Best Ways To Reduce Stress
As stated in the beginning, when you live in a world that constantly bombards you with negative and stressful things, you need to find a way to isolate yourself from these things, and simultaneously, decrease stress.
There are different things that you can do to accomplish that. According to scientists, one of the most efficient ways to do so is by reading books, particularly fictional books. Why is that? Well, that’s because they give us the opportunity to have some sort of disengagement from the real world and stressful situations.
It has been proven numerous times that reading has almost the same effect on our brains as meditation and/or yoga, or anything else that’s generally considered soothing and relaxing for the brain.
Those who read fiction regularly are capable of fixing their sleep schedule, so they sleep much better, are far more confident, less stressed, and a lot less anxious and depressed than the ones who rarely read, or do not read at all.
You may be surprised by the fact that reading is, in fact, a lot more efficient than taking a walk, watching movies, and listening to music.
You’ll Expand Your Vocabulary Too
This is, unfortunately, one of the most overlooked benefits of reading fictional books. Maybe that’s because some people do not think that it’s that important to expand their vocabularies, but that’s in fact, very crucial.
Bear in mind that in almost every book, you will run into a variety of different words, terms, linguistic styles, and phrases that you’ve never even heard of, or you thought that they were “extinct” in a way.
Writers who honestly care about their readers and who want them to enjoy their stories as much as possible, usually write books that are full of interesting expressions, idioms, and many other things that not only embellish the narratives but concurrently, expand your vocabulary as well.
Those who read books on a regular basis are normally perceived as a lot more eloquent. Not to mention the fact that those who enrich their vocabulary through reading, also positively influence their communication and speaking skills.
You then become a lot more capable of expressing your feelings and thoughts more clearly. Aside from all of this, when your vocabulary is rich, then you’re going to feel a lot more comfortable in practically any setting (referring to both professional and social) because you’ll be able to smoothly discuss any topic, engage in every conversation, without worrying that you are not capable of communicating your thoughts the right way.
You’ll No Longer Deal With Short Attention Span
Whether we like to admit it or not, the truth is that a lot of people nowadays, have a very short attention span, and aren’t able to focus on anything they do. If you are one of those people and you would like to improve it, then you should definitely start reading fiction.
Why does it positively influence the attention span? Well, that’s because it encourages you to remember everything that occurs in the story in order to properly comprehend everything. And this all results in improvement of your focus and concentration.
This is something that anyone can benefit from, starting from children, and students, to older folks. Literally, anyone who’s interested in working on their focus.
Reading fictional books isn’t only fulfilling and satisfying, but, as you can see, it also comes with a variety of different advantages that may make your life better in every way. So if you haven’t defined yourself as a book lover before, maybe it’s time to change that.
