5 Reasons to Read Fiction Books
5 Reasons to Read Fiction Books
1. Reduce Stress
Scientific studies have shown that reading for only thirty minutes can reduce stress levels. It allows the brain to escape from reality and current problems, promoting a sense of calm and well-being.
2. Good for Brain Health
Reading fiction can increase cognitive function and mental clarity. This can also improve critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. It engages one's imagination and neural connections, helping to keep the brain active therefore increasing its longevity.
3. Promote Empathy
Fiction books promote empathy, because they allow the reader to view different perspectives through the minds and hearts of fictional characters. The immersive experience of reading these books allows one to go on emotional journeys with various types of characters, exposing them to different belief systems and lifestyles.
4. Understand the Human Experience
Reading can allow one to better understand others and how to interact with them. The stories might also create a framework that helps readers understand what they are currently experiencing in their lives. Sometimes it is hard to comprehend and express one's emotions, so the characters in fiction stories might help provide both an emotional outlet and a description of a reader's feelings.
5. Increase Vocabulary
Exposure to new words and their definitions is an added benefit to reading fiction. Throughout the plot and the characters' dialogue, readers will be introduced to new words that they can either look up or determine their meaning by their context. This can improve readers' communication through speaking and writing.
Fiction Changes Your Brain, Let Me Explain
Benefits of Reading Infographic
Why Read Fiction
Research
- The Case for Reading Fiction
When it comes to reading, we may be assuming that reading for knowledge is the best reason to pick up a book. Research, however, suggests that reading fiction may provide far more important benefits than nonfiction. - Reading fiction: the benefits are numerous - PMC
Learn about the benefits of reading fiction from PubMed Central. - Why Reading About Fictional People Can Improve Your Social Life | Psychology Today
Reading helps us read others. Watching movies does not. - The Case for Fiction: How Reading Fiction Can Help Researchers | Biomedical Odyssey
As researchers, we constantly read and collect data within our own research circles and laboratories. By reading fiction, we can simultaneously improve our overall well-being and expand the way we conceptualize our research questions.
