Reading Benefits
“Psychological Benefits of Reading” by Alexa S., 7th grade
Reading helps us with many things, and many of them have to do with psychology, so today I am here to tell you some of the amazing psychological benefits of reading.
What Is Psychology? And what does it have to do with reading?
Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. Now that you know that, you might be asking yourself, what does the human mind have to do with reading? Well, most people don’t read books out loud, they read it in their minds. Here is where psychology connects with reading, books positively affect our brains. Some help with mental health challenges and diseases, basically depending if the book is good or not. While many people might feel like reading is boring, it actually helps you distract yourself from daily worries and problems, almost as if taking a break from the world surrounding you. Suddenly all you care about is if the main character in the book is going to be killed or survive the killer.
What studies show
A study published in 2016 from Yale University shows that “people who read 3.5 hours per week or more, lived 23 more months than an average person who doesn’t read.” Which shows that reading can improve your life, and time on earth. The study was performed with around 3,635 people, they were all separated into three different groups, the ones who didn’t read at all, the ones who read for 3 and a half hours, and those who read more than 3 and a half hours, they all had to answer “How many hours did you spend last week reading books?”. “More than 12 years later, those who read at least 3 and a half hours per week were proved to be 17% less likely to die, and the ones who read the most were 23% less likely to die” People who read books were scientifically proven to have an average of 2-years longer life-span, than those who didn’t read at all.
Reading books reduces stress
Many different studies have shown that reading books reduces stress and narrative transportation, which just means getting really involved in the book, that you feel things like happiness, sadness, and others. Reading books usually helps people with the way they deal with their problems, reading encourages people to use their strengths, and re-enforces their sense of identity. “Reading about positive psychology actually helps with psychological resilience.” Says the article. “Resciliency” is just a big word for how people recover quickly from adversity. Positive psychological resiliency could help maintain good mental and social connections. Some literacy articles show that books sometimes stimulate the person’s inner positive thoughts and feelings, which could lead to a better mental health and an upswing in their lifestyles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, reading has many important psychological benefits that can help improve our minds. It can reduce stress, increase focus, and help us understand other people’s feelings and perspectives. Reading also strengthens our imagination and helps us get distracted from our daily worries and stress. Because of all these benefits, taking time to read, even if it’s just once in a while, can make a big difference in our daily lives, like living longer. So, picking up a good book every now and then is a great habit that can help us grow and feel better overall.
“The Importance of Reading to Children” by Maddie M., 8th grade
I’d like to consider myself an avid reader, and I have been that way since a young age. In fact, a key memory from my early childhood is going to the library and attending storytime. You might think that reading with or to young children is just another way to entertain them. However, there are many benefits, such as improving cognitive development and fostering a relationship between the reader and the child.
Cognitive Development
To start, one benefit of reading to children is that it supports their cognitive development. Studies show that children who are exposed to reading and books before entering preschool are more likely to succeed in their later education and have a larger vocabulary. This could mean that if you don’t introduce reading to your child early on, they may have a harder time reading and learning in general once they enter school. Furthermore, the Child Mind Institute says, “By reading to your child starting at a young age, even before they’re able to communicate verbally, you help lay the neurological groundwork for effective language use and literacy. That’s partly because books expose children to vocabulary and grammar that they wouldn’t normally hear.” To elaborate, reading to your child, especially books about real-world situations or unique topics, can teach them more words. For example, a book about the zoo would have more unique words that children wouldn’t hear in day-to-day conversations.
Strengthening Relationships
In addition, reading to children strengthens and fosters relationships between the reader and the child. Raleigh Pediatrics says that infants’ hearing their parents’ voices while reading to them promotes their emotional well-being and strengthens their attachment to their parents. So, reading to your child can improve their ability to handle tough situations in the future and build resilience to stress. Secondly, Dr. Phillips states, “The physical contact that you get from being held by your parent while you’re reading actually helps to engage neurons in the brain, which make kids more receptive to the language and the cognitive stimulation that they’re getting from that experience.” This shows how family bonding time can actually become a learning opportunity!
Resources
Need assistance with incorporating books into your routine or want to reach out to an expert?
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a non-profit charity. Their goal is to improve children’s reading skills by encouraging them to read 1000 books before entering kindergarten. Many communities and libraries in the United States and Canada have established this program. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten even has its own app where you can track the books you read. Their website is 1000booksbeforekindergarten.org.
Additionally, Reach Out and Read is a non-profit organization. During a child’s well visits, they work with parents and teach them important things, such as the best way to hold a book when reading to their child. They offer advice and vital information about why it is important to read to children. During visits, they provide the family with a free book to take home. They offer these books in 38 different languages! Their website is https://reachoutandread.org.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, reading to children is important and has many benefits. These benefits include the ability to strengthen the relationship between parents and children and the added cognitive development. There are many organizations to assist with this task, like Reach Out and Read and 1000 Books before Kindergarten. Additionally, since I was read to a lot as a child, I can say that it has made me love reading and has definitely influenced my life and who I am now. So, whether you and your child are at library storytime or reading the Percy Jackson books, make sure to educate the future leaders of our world!
Sources
James, Sini. “Benefits of Starting Reading at a Young Age.” Www.nationwidechildrens.org, 4 Nov. 2022, www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2022/11/benefits-of-starting-reading.
“Benefits of Reading to Your Children | Raleigh Pediatrics.” Raleigh Pediatrics, 8 Oct. 2025, raleighpediatrics.com/importance-of-reading-to-children/.
Sheldon-Dean, Hannah. “Why Is It Important to Read to Your Child?” Child Mind Institute, Child Mind Institute, 19 Jan. 2023, childmind.org/article/why-is-it-important-to-read-to-your-child/.
“How Can Books Help Distract Us From Real Life?” by Brenda O., 7th grade
Some people may think that books can only help you learn how to read, BUT that is definitely not the case. Reading books has way more benefits than just learning how to read, but do you know them? In this article, we are going to talk about some ways that books can help us live our lives better.
If you have any economic issues, family issues, or something stressing you, read a book, maybe even an audiobook. Reading a book can distract you and take you to another world, a world where you can concentrate on another person’s story and your own. Just for a moment, try to read a book, complete it, and see just how interesting it can be to get out of your own story and start another. It’s good to sometimes forget about reality, it can be a way of learning about another point of view, or just looking for entertainment.
Reading can also help you fall asleep. There are thousands of books that talk about relaxation or are relaxing. Another way can be silencing your thoughts with a good story. Sometimes, I have trouble sleeping because my thoughts keep me awake, so a solution I found was reading a book before sleeping. The book made me stop overthinking stuff and forget my problems, and made me think about the story and how it could end, or how I need to read the other series of it.
“Reading promotes mindfulness, or the ability to live in the moment. It pulls our attention away from unwanted or worrying thoughts and helps to focus on the present.” It’s a quote from Henry Ford Health telling us how reading can also promote mindfulness, which means that you are more aware and present in the real world and are able to enjoy the good things in life and ignore the negative things.
Reading has helped me a lot with stress and tuning out negative thoughts, and I’m sure that it has helped a lot of other people, so it can help YOU! The real world can indeed be scary or stressful, so just take a moment to read a book and see how wonderful it is to take your mind off what is happening and relax.
“How Reading Books Can Help You on Your Daily Life“ by Cecilia G., 8th grade
Reading books is an interesting way to learn and help with your mental health, not only you will be learning so much you will also see improvement in many occasions in your daily life. There are many reasons why reading can help you develop in your daily life and help you in many situations, not only at school but everywhere else.
- Reading reduces stress
Studies show that reading daily can help you get more relaxed and reduce stress. A study by the University of Sussex demonstrated that six minutes of silent reading can reduce stress levels by 68 per cent. (source)
- Reading helps with sleep
Reading can help with many health problems that may be showing up in your sleep. The main reason is the decrease in stress, anxiety and muscular tension associated with reading. Helping you relax and unwind before sleep can make a difference in being able to push aside anxious thoughts and allow your consciousness to drift off. (source)
- Builds vocabulary
Reading can not only help with learning new words, it also keeps children interested in all the new things they are learning about. Reading aloud with children allows for exposure to sophisticated language and content that might be above their independent reading level, but not above their interest level. (source)
- Helps building memory
It can help your brain with your memory since your brain actively encodes and stores information, creating new connections between neurons. Visualizing scenes, characters, and details from a story engages the brain’s sensory regions, enhancing memory retention through vivid mental imagery. (source)
- Strengthens writing skills
When reading you can learn new vocabulary which for children, reading offers them a window into how authors write. It offers a study in different genres, styles, tones, and use of different vocabulary words. (source)
- Improves critical thinking skills
When children spend a lot of time reading, they strengthen their ability to think about something from another point of view and to problem solve for someone outside of themselves. Finding solutions to a character’s problem helps children to think through other issues around them with similar discernment. (source)
- Strengthens your brain
One 2020 study found that increased gray matter in the left superior temporal cortex part of the brain was associated with better reading performance in children. Gray matter plays a role in cognitive function. (source)
In conclusion, reading does a big part in your life. By helping with improving your mental health, thinking skills, vocabulary, and many other reasons listed above. Reading can not only be entertaining and fun as a hobby, it can also make your life a lot better by giving you many sorts of help.
Thank you so much to my student voices today and their look at the benefits of reading!
