If You Want To Live A Thousand Lives, Read
I can be an explorer, a vampire, an elephant, a gazelle, a doll, a mountain or a star. When I read a book, I can travel and be transformed. Books allow me to live a thousand lives and learn something new from each one of them.
In the 1930s, two Asturians settled in Cuba and started a cigar company. At the factory, the cigar manufacturers had very long working days. To pass the time, one of the workers would always read a novel to the rest.
The one they liked most was the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. This story led workers to increase productivity and make cigars of even higher quality. That is why these cigars were then called “Monte Cristo”.
This simple anecdote teaches us that reading gives us wings. Books stimulate our imagination and allow us to live other lives. We can dream about places we do not know, feel emotions intensely, love people we have not met, or even fly.
The benefits of reading
When we read, we do not just feel identified with the different characters in the books. We can also get to know places we have never been to, experience customs we have never seen. This gives us a good sensitivity to our surroundings and the people around us.
Now we will analyze some of the benefits of reading. These include promoting empathy, creativity and memory. It can even help prevent having to fight Alzheimer’s or stress, or help develop intelligence or the ability to speak and hear.
Reading makes you a more empathetic person
In 2013, various researchers at Emory University compared the brains of readers and non-readers. They found that in the first group, by using their imagination to understand the feelings of the characters in the books they read, the readers were in a general sense more empathetic.
Reading increases your ability to understand what others are feeling, which is a basic skill for your development. This affects you in different areas, such as friendship, family, romantic relationships and at work.
The habit of reading helps to improve your memory
Various studies have shown that the lack of memory use causes you to begin to lose your memory skills. It is therefore advisable to solve crossword puzzles, sudoku and reading, among other activities. These are the ways to keep your mental circuits lubricated, the ones responsible for memory.
Reading helps us to remember events that have happened, people’s situations, conflicts we have become acquainted with through books and the lives of the characters that the authors behind each book show us. This way of remembering strengthens our intelligence.
Reading helps reduce our stress
Based on studies conducted by Dr. Davis Lewis, reading reduces stress levels by 68%. It also makes us relax by lowering the heart rate. Just six minutes of reading per day is enough to significantly reduce stress levels.
As we read, our thoughts transport us to another place. Thus, if we have had a bad day at work, reading, for example, will help us disconnect and distract ourselves. Or it will give us the relaxation we need to feel good and enjoy ourselves without thinking about anything else.
The risk of Alzheimer’s can be reduced by reading
Various studies have shown that to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, reading can be a good tool. It stimulates the brain, and the cells bind together and grow.
In 2001, various researchers showed that older people who read regularly or perform mental exercises are less likely to develop this disease. Therefore, practice this simple habit every day and you will do your brain exercise.
You learn to be a better speaker and writer
Reading enables us to become better public speakers, because by reading we gain vocabulary and learn new terms. This learning enables us to write better and have conversations more easily, by using language to the advantage of what we want to express.
Some readers do not just live different lives through the characters in the stories they have read. Readers also have many topics of conversation available and a good ability to listen to others and to observe closely.
You will live out and enjoy many lives
By reading, you will be able to enjoy the life of an adventurer in the Amazon, a king in an imaginary land or an orangutan in the jungle. Each page will flood your soul so you can enjoy it as you read. Above all, reading is a great pleasure. It is not expensive and is easily accessible to everyone.
Also, you will not only live out the present life, but also those in the past or future. Obviously, because books allow us to travel in time and get to know everything about our ancestors. In addition, they can tell us how we want to be in the future. Reading is like dreaming while awake, opening your eyes to thousands of different realities.
