4 reasons why you should read books every day, according to science

Reading is something you can take for granted, but the ability to make sense of the letters on a page or screen (if eBooks are your thing) can be life changing. Here are several ways researchers say reading books is good for you.

A researcher from the University of Oxford analyzed the survey responses of 17,200 people born in 1970 and determined that people who read books at 16 were more likely to have a professional or managerial career at 33 years. extracurricular activities such as sports, cultural outings, computer games, cooking and sewing, not all of which have been shown to be linked to future professional success.

That’s according to Ken Pugh, research director at Yale-affiliated Haskins Laboratories, which studies the impact of spoken and written language. He says reading books is an activity that activates all major parts of the brain and strengthens language skills, selective attention, sustained attention, cognition and imagination. And books that tell a story through fiction or narrative non-fiction are especially useful for developing imagination and thinking skills that other types of reading cannot.

According to a study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, reading a single picture book to a child each day exposes them to approximately 78,000 words per year. The researchers calculated that in the five years leading up to kindergarten, children living in literacy-rich households heard about 1.4 million more words than children whose guardians did not read to them. This is important for their future, as the ability to communicate well is a skill that employers most often cite as something they value in potential employees.

This is the opinion of John Coleman, co-author of the book Passion and purpose: testimonials from the best and brightest young business leaders in a story he wrote for Harvard business review. He writes:

Reading increases verbal intelligence, making a leader a more skilled and articulate communicator. Reading novels can improve empathy and understanding of social cues, enabling a leader to work better with and understand others – traits author Anne Kreamer has persuasively linked to increased organizational effectiveness. , and salary increases and promotions for leaders who possessed these qualities. And every businessman understands that increased emotional intelligence will improve his leadership and management skills.