Why Books
are Better for Your Brain

By Saralyn
Richard

 

Since the
beginning of television, debates have been held over the benefits of reading
over TV watching or vice versa. Some of the tried-and-true arguments include:

·        
Reading
allows you to form pictures in your brain, which involves more creativity and
imagination than having them spoon-fed.

·        
Reading
time is all quality time, with no time wasted on commercials.

·        
Books
are portable and less expensive to use.

·        
Books
delve into thought-provoking issues more thoroughly than TV shows.

·        
Reading
is a quieter, more peaceful activity.

·        
You
can read on your own schedule.

·        
You
don’t have to worry about whether you subscribe to the right channel.

All great
points, but here are a few more that come from educational (and brain-based)
research:

·        
Reading,
unlike watching or listening to media, allows the brain to stop, think,
process, and imagine the narrative in front of you.

·        
Reading
creates connections in the brain that promote language, cognitive, social, and
emotional development.

·        
Reading
rewires the brain and creates new white matter.

·        
Reading
puts the reader in the shoes of the character in the book, figuratively and
biologically. It creates empathy.

·        
Reading
increases attention spans and encourages sequential thinking.

·        
Reading
increases vocabulary.

·        
Reading
rewires your brain, so that you can imagine alternative paths, remember
details, picture detailed scenes, and think through complex problems.

In short,
reading makes you more knowledgeable AND more functional. In other words, if
television is a bag of potato chips and a soft drink, reading is a warm and
tasty meal and a delicious smoothie.

My years
in education have proven to me over and over again how important it is to be a
good reader. Literacy is the basis for all learning (even mathematics and
music, which are other forms of reading). The more you practice reading, the
better able you will be to comprehend, analyze, compare and contrast,
synthesize, and evaluate. No one I know of has ever made those same claims for
watching television.

I’m not
advocating the abolishment of TVs or television programming. But I do recommend
making reading a priority when carving out your leisure time. Whatever you
choose to read, you’ll have excellent entertainment, and your brain will thank
you.