by 
In the era of visual content who wants to read books rather than just watch them. We can watch a TikTok or Instagram Video for 15 seconds and learn a piece of new information. But what happens if you watch it, you don’t participate in that process, you are just a vague viewer and within days or two, you just forget the video and the information it contains. Though watching something is far more exciting than reading but it really doesn’t help you build your memory in fact.
Famous American entrepreneur, motivational speaker, philanthropist, and writer Jim Rohn once said reading is essential for those who want to rise above from ordinary. If you are a regular reader, you are more likely to remember more things than the others who don’t.
Memory has a pivotal role in understanding the present and future and also in teaching and learning. The framework in which memory work has three steps which are encoding, storage and recuperation. And reading has a significant part in that process. So let me explain my ideas on how reading improves your memory.
Ways on How Reading Improves Your Memory
Select a book, I will tell you that select a genre you like the most, it can be fiction or non-fiction, can be any famous novel by Rachel hawkings I would suggest reckless girls or you just start with what you feel like. Pick a time when you are in your most relaxed state. Human memory has its limitation, so don’t expect that the book you are reading you are going to remember a hundred percent of it. You don’t have to. Read spontaneously and you will consciously be encoding the information which is the first step of memory building.
Reading and Thinking
Reading is something that I am passionate about. Reading is a type of exercise for the brain. When you read you are exercising your neurobiology. It is important to understand that the brain wants and needs to learn something new constantly. In the same way, we want to engage in physical activity and exercise our body, it is important not only to engage in mental activities like reading but also to engage in thinking processes after reading.
Reading naturally involves you in the thinking process and develops higher thinking ability in you. Every reader is a thinker and you are also right now.
That’s how we exercise our neurobiology and our mind stays healthy, active, curious, and young. In this post I will explain what kind of things I have read recently and think about them, but also invite you to share your experience with books or articles you have recently read and what do you think about it
Read, think, read, think. You can’t just read and immediately start writing! Let your mind wander and digest the information you’ve read. Think about what you’ve understood and what confused you or came as a surprise.
Develop a systematic process for reading and thinking: How many times should I go through this material? When should I stop reading? What signs should I look for that indicate it’s time to move on to my next task? Make sure you are in serenity, free from chaos and distractions.
Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Reading rewires your brain’s form and function. Neuroscientist discovers that intensive reading develops the quality of the brain’s white matter. There are also studies that prove reading can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Further several research strongly recommends regular reading for 6 to 10 minutes for several health benefits including mental wellbeing.
While another study indicated watching TV, playing computer games, and surfing the internet are linked to a higher risk of dementia. Books, magazines, crosswords, and other activities that engage your brain may help prevent dementia. Studies suggest reading books is more stimulating than reading things on a screen.
Reading a book is good for brain health because it involves both sides of the brain, says Dr. David Gunzelman, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. Reading a book also provides more stimulation than looking at a screen with one side of your brain only, he says.
Reading Reduces Stress
Reading is a proven stress buster, it helps you sleep better moreover it affects your overall happiness. One study from Yale University found that people who read positive stories showed an increase in positive emotions while another study from the UK, University of Surrey had similar findings. They found that reading works as a mental vacation for people helping them feel happier, less lonely and less anxious.
When you read, your heart rate goes slow and you scale down your muscle pressure. Besides the main cause of stress and anxiety is overthinking, mental pressure, a feeling of helplessness, overwhelming responsibilities or not having enough work to be occupied. Therefore in such instances, it is good to be engaged with some interesting books that release your stress and calm your senses.
Make you a Word-Hoard
Reading helps you in building advanced vocabulary, this is a topic that I have emphasized in my previous article Does Reading Help You Speak Better. The formula is simple, the more you read, the more you develop your glossary. The more you become confident and find words to express your emotions. The average American read one book a year but a CEO read at least 50 books a year. A strong vocabulary not just makes your memory strong but also strengthens your position in society.
It adds charm to your image and makes you attractive and desirable. Further vocabulary just sits right in our subconscious mind and never lets us forget words. When you read you make your brain think and make it work. Reading helps your brain work. The more you read and practice, the better you will get at it. That’s because of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change its connections based on your experiences.
Through neuroplasticity, your brain can build new neural pathways and strengthen existing ones every time you learn something new. When you read the diverse part of your brain such as vision, language, and associative learning work together to build a better memory.
The More you Read the Better you Get
When you read you make your brain think and make it work. Reading helps your brain work. The more you read and practice, the better you will get at it. That’s because of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change its connections based on your experiences. Through neuroplasticity, your brain can build new neural pathways and strengthen existing ones every time you learn something new. When you read the diverse part of your brain such as vision, language, and associative learning work together to build a better memory.
Three Stages of Reading
Reading is a process that involves both your short-term memory and long-term memory. In fact, there are three stages involved in reading.
- When you read a sentence or generate thoughts from a book you are pulling from your short-term memory. That means you are recalling information already stored in your mind at the time.
- As the book continues or after you finish reading you continue to store information from what you have just read in your long-term memory.
- Each time you read the book again There will be even more additional material and facts that are going to add to your long-term memory as well as additional layers of knowledge on top of previously known facts.
