Literacy

Why we should ALL read for 20-30 minutes per day:

1. Mental Stimulation
Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain requires exercise to keep it strong and healthy, so the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ is particularly apt when it comes to your mind.

2. Stress Reduction
No matter how much stress you have in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story. A well-written novel can transport you to other realms, while an engaging article will distract you and keep you in the present moment, letting tensions drain away and allowing you to relax.

3. Knowledge
Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are to tackle any challenges you’ll ever face.

4. Vocabulary Expansion
The more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, and they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary.
Being articulate and well-spoken is of great help in any profession and knowing that you can speak to higher-ups with self-confidence can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem. It could even aid in your career, as those who are well-read, well-spoken, and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly (and more often) than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and global events.

5. Memory Improvement
Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways) and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short-term memory recall as well as stabilizing moods.
How cool is that?

6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills
Have you ever been able to solve a problem before being given all of the information? If so, you were able to put critical and analytical thinking to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out to determine the issue.
When reading a novel or article and being able to work out what is going to happen before you have completed the reading, you are using and growing your analytical skills

This ability to analyze details also comes in handy when solving day to day problems.
Should you ever have an opportunity to discuss issues with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the aspects involved.

7. Improved Focus and Concentration
In our forever busy word, attention is drawn in a million different directions at once as we multi-task through every day.
Checking emails, chatting with a couple of people (via skype, etc.), keeping an eye on twitter, monitoring your smartphone, and interacting with co-workers and peers. This type of ADD-like behaviour causes stress levels to rise, and can have a negative impact on productivity.

When you read a book or article, all your attention is focused on the story—the rest of the world just falls away, and you can immerse yourself in every fine detail you’re absorbing.

Try reading for 15-20 minutes before work/school and you’ll be surprised at how much more focused you are for the day.

8. Better Writing Skills
This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary:
Exposure to published, well-written work will enhance one’s writing. Observing fluidity, cadence and writing styles of others will invariably influence your own writing.

9. Tranquillity
In addition to the relaxation that accompanies reading a good book, it’s possible that the subject you read about can bring about immense inner peace and tranquillity.

Reading can bring about an immense sense of calm.

10. Free Entertainment

Mrs Karen McDougall, Literacy Coordinator