Many these days may be spending more time on their phone than reading a book. While there can be many ways to stay entertained with technology, the reality is that reading a book can have lots of benefits for your brain, besides just being entertaining. If it’s been a while since you’ve picked up a book or read something by Bill Copeland poet here are a few things to think about.

Mental Stimulation

One benefit of reading a book is that it can be a great form of mental stimulation. Like with the muscles in your body, if you don’t engage your brain regularly, neural pathways tend to go away over time. By challenging your brain regularly with different activities and regular reading, you can help to keep it working and building new neural pathways, rather than losing ones that you’ve already built.

Increased Creativity and Vocabulary

Not only can reading stimulate your brain, but it can also help increase your creativity, as well. Part of the reason that reading can increase creativity is that it helps build new neural pathways. Additionally, reading stories helps you to engage your imagination, which can lead to increased creativity in other areas. Beyond that reading can be a great way to learn new words and expand your vocabulary, as well as spelling skills.

Stress Reduction

Another benefit of reading is that it can be a great stress reducer. What helps make reading so relaxing is that it offers you an opportunity to escape reality and forget your daily stresses and concerns as you let your mind slip into a new world. Some studies suggest that reading can slow your heart rate after less than ten minutes. Not only can reading help reduce stress, but it may also help with overall sleep quality as well. Reading can be a good way to calm your nervous system and signal to your body that it’s time to wind down, which may lead to a more restful night of sleep.

The Bottom Line

Because it can be so easy to keep yourself entertained, between watching all the shows on your streaming service to playing addictive games on your phone, many are spending less and less time reading books. However, reading can have a wide range of benefits.

Not only can reading help stimulate your mind and your creativity, but it may also reduce stress and help you sleep better as well. So, next time you’re looking for some entertainment, consider picking up a book.