Does reading a lot actually make you smarter, more insightful etc?

[cocoaero]

Recently I've been hitting a good reading streak reading on average 1-2 books a week since the start of the year. I read mostly contemporary (well last 50 years up to present day) literary fiction, some classics and a few non-fiction books.

I am enjoying it, I feel like it helps me relax and that I sleep better after reading for an hour than I do if I've been scrolling. I am enjoying less time online in general so that is good and I enjoy the entertainment of the books and I am not expecting it to do anything special other than that. I was talking to a family member the other day and they were saying reading is beneficial for your mind that it helps creativity and improves thinking and can even help protect against dementia.

Is this true do you think?

Yes it is. I used to read a book a day and I think I learned a lot more from all my reading than I ever did at school. Don't know about the dementia part but it definitely keeps your brain more active

@Devilsmommy Cool, a good reason to keep it up then! I don't feel any different and I always did read but am just doing it a lot more now.

It’s not a matter of opinion! Huge numbers of studies demonstrate it’s great for your cognitive and mental health, improves memory and focus etc. It can slow cognitive decline. Reading is a de-stressor. So as well as the benefit you get from the content of what you read (ie, read a history of India and you will have a lot of new information, vocabulary etc), you also benefit the act of reading itself.

Definitely

What about audio books? I’m always listening to them as I fall asleep

Depends on what books, but in general reading is good.

@Mahout Thanks, that's great to know!

@WingBingo I'd like to know as well as I listen to audiobooks when I do housework/cooking. I don't count them as reading but I get though about one a week.

It does depend what you read,but yes.

What type, story books, not sure?

It depends on what your reading. Any knowledge you gain from reading or anywhere else is useful. It broadens you horizons and knowledge base.

I'm not so good at reading bond these days, but I listen to podcasts, I read articles online and watch videos on YouTube.

I think yes in some ways. I'm dyslexic and loved books from a young age. I was tested for dyslexia in my 20s and was average to low in most areas of the test except a shockingly high vocabulary. Top 1 percentile of the country. I credit reading for this.

I also suspect it helps with visualisation and imagination skills but it's possible that the causation is reversed on this. Maybe imaginative people like reading more.

I read mostly literary fiction, classics and non-fiction. I am not so keen on genre fiction as I haven't found any I like so much. I've been reading loads of A.S. Byatt and Doris Lessing of late.

I think it depends on what you are reading. I love a book that tells me about cultures I'm unfamiliar with, but I don't take the authors word for it, it is just their view, or the characters they've invented, view.

I like books that show me another way of being. For example, I was lucky enough to fall head over heels with my child when they were born, and that love has endured for me, for over 50 years. But I "enjoyed" We Have to Talk about Kevin because it portrayed a woman who didn't love their child. I've spent many moments wondering about that, and it made me realise that Not everyone falls in love with their child as I did. That was helpful to me in understanding others and being more compassionate in general.

in a similar way, I "enjoyed" The Killing Fields. I've never been involved in war, but I understand what guilt feels like. Stanley's journey to find the Vietnamese guy he left behind helped me understand guilt, it's purpose and how very much I needed to avoid it, however cringe making/embarrassing/whatever it felt to avoid guilt at all costs to me and my ego.

In short, it depends what you read and what you take from it.

Of course

Absolutely it does. Even just widening your grammar and the words that you learn along the way.
The more you read across some non-fiction area as well the better you get at critical thinking. So decades ago I read the Holy Blood and Holy Grail and as far as I was concerned all of it was true. Time passes, I read more, it's all a bit of a nonsense but I learned that by reading more widely and reading for the pleasure of learning with some books or the pleasure of a good story. I'd say reading was one of the great treasures of my life.

It depends on what you are reading. I read a lot of non-fiction, so I hope I'm learning something.
If it's fiction, then I try to read classics.

If it's a light read, then it's still likely to be better than watching a film.

Multiple studies have shown that there are huge benefits to reading....and what you read doesn't matter as long as you are engaged with the text and focused on it.

These benefits seem mainly to be stress reduction, improved memory and concentration, increased creativity and improved vocabulary. So I'm a big fan of encouraging people to read whatever sort of books they want and not to worry about how high brow or not they are....if it encourages a love of reading then that is a good thing.

It is the same with my DDs. DD1 is really into comics at the moment that I think are utter tosh but if it keeps her reading then that's fine!

It gives you cultural capital.

There's definitely several studies around it improving empathy.

Definitely agree - benefits evident from really young too. My daughter aged c. 8 had some tough times at school and amazed me by saying it’s like so and so in a book mum, I know it will get better.
It’s as if she’s lived all the things she’s read so she’s very much wise beyond her years where my son is very much not!!

Reading is so important.

I've lost my focus and read very little. To my shame. I used to read so much before phones.

There's good evidence that reading is good for the brain, however it's not the only activity which helps. Doing puzzles, learning a language, and crafts such as knitting/crochet are also good for one's brain. 😬 I read loads from the age I could read right up until my mid-30s, but don't really read much these days, preferring podcasts and audiobooks now - I often listen in the language I've been learning for a few years, and that's definitely a brain work out at times. I don't think reading for 'pleasure' should be forced, rather gently encouraged, and I don't like the air of superiority that some folk have about reading.

It doesn’t make you smarter, no. Intellect/IQ can influence what and how you read but reading cannot increase it.

Reading does have lots of benefits for your brain though, and it also usually has a positive impact on a person’s writing skills and vocabulary as well. As for insight, it probably depends on what you’re reading. In my experience insight is usually linked more to observational and analytical skills.

Yes it does. I’ve got really good general knowledge, all of which I’ve picked up from reading a wide range of books (and sometimes looking into things I’ve read about further).

Teachers I know say that you can tell which children are keen readers, it positively impacts their knowledge and skills across subjects even at a young age