It prevents
Alzheimer’s! Also, it makes you sexier.
1. Reading
can help prevent Alzheimer’s.
A study in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, found that older people who read regularly are two
and a half times less likely to have Alzheimer’s. While that doesn’t mean
reading alone will prevent Alzheimer’s, it does suggest that there’s a
correlation between intellectual pursuits, like reading, and prevention.
2. Being
a reader means you’re more likely to learn something new, like whether or not
your cat is trying to kill you.
Anne E. Cunningham
wrote a paper called, “What Reading Does For The Mind,” and discovered that
being an avid reader actually does make you smarter. It not only helps you retain information, but
also helps you maintain that knowledge through old age. Whether or not you’re
aware of it, reading fills your head with new information, and you never know
when it will come in handy… Looking at you, Colonel Meow.
3. People
who read are more likely to vote, exercise, and be more cultural.
A study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that people who
regularly read are much more likely to be engaged civically and culturally.
Which means reading actually makes you win at life.
4. Reading
a book reduces stress, and puts you in a better mood.
When you read, it transports you and your worried mind to
another place, so you won’t feel so overwhelmed with the hardships of everyday
life. And a 2009 study found that reading for just six minutes can reduce
stress levels up to 68%. Read on, anxious ones!
5. Reading
can be therapeutic.
According to Cristel
Russell, a consumer behavior researcher at American
University, reading a book—much like listening to a song, or
watching a movie—can be a way to relive past experiences and gain new
perspective. So, if you’re going through a breakup and read a book in which the
characters are experiencing something similar, it can give you insight.
6. Having
trouble remembering where you put those keys? Reading enhances your memory.
Every time you read, you
create a new memory of what you’ve read—essentiallyexercising your memory muscles. With each new memory, your brain forges new
synapses, strengthens existing ones, and helps to keep your memory sharp.
7. Reading
actually does make you seem sexier, especially to women.
A study found that
intelligence—even just perceived intelligence—is one of the most attractive
qualities to women. So, keep your nose in a book and you’ll have people falling
over themselves to try and distract you!
8. Reading
helps to boost your analytical thinking.
That’s right, future
lawyers and doctors! The more you read, the better you’re able to spot patterns, which
helps to build those analytical thinking skills.
9. Reading
expands your vocabulary, so you’ll sound like a smartie.
The more books you crack open, the more words you’ll be exposed to. Those words
will eventually find a place in your own vocabulary. And since all of us need
to use words at some point in our careers, reading makes it more likely that
you’ll be promoted faster.
10. Opening
a book makes you a better writer.
11. Fiction
books increase your ability to empathize with others.
A study done out of
the University of Buffalo proved that even
though fiction is about an imaginary world, through reading you’re able to
conceive of other possibilities, and a life beyond your own insular one. In
other words, you may never have traveled to Europe, but by reading about a
culture other than your own it helps you to understand their way of life. In
that way, it helps you to empathize with other people and connect with different cultures.
12. People
who read are more likely to get ahead when it comes to their careers, and life
in general
Honor
Wilson-Fletcher, Director for the National Year of Reading, said that reading “opens doors and makes life
easier, so at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you read. What’s more,
it really can make you feel good!”
I happen to understand that in your lonely life--no matter how you desist it-- you have this utter need for attention that you mostly mask with sheer sarcasm. 
