Lifestyle
Daily Dose of Reading Helps Boosts Brain Power
If, like many people, you are concerned about how much screen time you or your kids are getting, there’s an easy remedy which can also help boost your brain power: Reading a book – in print.
According to the American Library Association, students who are independent readers score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas and have a greater knowledge of content than those who rarely read.
Need ideas and inspiration? Check out the Read 15 Pages a Day program from the Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds campaign, funded by manufacturers and importers of paper and paper-based packaging. The program is designed to encourage reading in print at all ages and reading levels while promoting the benefits reading in print provides.
By reading books and other print materials each day, children and adults could improve their brain power in two ways:
– Improve memory and information recall. Research suggests that the physical sensation of holding a book helps readers retain more information and absorb more details than when they read e-books or material online. Reading on paper promotes concentration on what you read, so you are better able to remember it.
Other studies suggest that taking notes on paper in classes or meetings and re-reading them improves recall and retention of information.
– Improved language and mental development. The 15 Pages a Day Program encourages parents to read just 15 pages with their children each day. Regular reading of print books can help improve children’s language development and inspire them to become independent readers, a gift that will last a lifetime. Even when children can read their own 15 pages of a print book, reading aloud will increase their understanding of how knowledge is acquired and shared and encourages active listening.
In addition, studies of older adults show that those who read and write regularly experience significantly slower declines in memory compared with those who are not regular readers.
Another benefit? A print book needs no charger, and you can read in a cabin in the woods, on a plane without WiFi, on a sailboat, on a bus, or on a beach, so the 15 pages can fit in anywhere, anytime.
Learn more about the power of printed books and the benefits of just 15 pages of reading each day at howlifeunfolds.com/15pages.
