Reading as a concentration exercise
According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the key benefits of regular book reading is training your focus. We live in a fast digital era, surrounded by adverts, computer screens and various other distractions that take away our natural ability to focus for a long time on just one thing at once. The problem is that if you want to achieve success in virtually any sector, you must focus intensively and in depth on any given thing. By reading a book, you practise focusing on just one thing at a time and preventing focus fragmentation, which these days is something especially young people suffer from.
Brain stimulation
Another advantage of reading is the absolutely unique use of mental skills and maintenance of mental sharpness. When reading, your brain must interact with the text in order actively to create the images of the story's images in your mind. Compared to films, where you merely sit passively and let the whole story unfold and flow in front of you, reading forces you to use your creativity and active thinking so you can imagine the story in the text actually happening. Thus, reading helps improve your creative skills, keep your sharpness and, especially in the case of elderly people, fight against some of the gradually increasing problems with memory and cognitive skills.
Become a regular reader
The final point to make concerns the ideal process of reading. First of all, you should eliminate all distractions and learn to focus exclusively on reading. Turn off the TV, switch off your phone for a while (being out of reach for a short period is unlikely to have any fatal consequences), and read in peace. The choice of literary genre is up to you. Some people successfully alternate between easy reads and more intellectually stimulating texts. Even if you do not have much time during the day and in the evening, it is okay if you initially spend just half an hour or so reading every day or every few days.
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