by Dr. Jim Price
Award Winning Author and Educator
Life can be a roller coaster of responsibilities that we juggle everyday. We often forget to indulge in self care routines to help us replenish our mental, emotional and physical well being. Reading is one dimension that can help us find balance within our everyday lives in many ways. Research has indicated that reading can lead to levels of reduced stress and that the impact can be as profound as 68% reduction of stress and anxiety within six minutes of reading literature. This is something that children and adults alike can greatly benefit from.
The benefits of incorporating reading literature into your self care routines can have positive branching influences mentally and emotionally as there are many self care books available that bring more awareness to aspects of ourselves that we can evolve, grow and improve upon. Some of these benefits of reading literature can include being able to lower your heart rate and muscle tension which can help put one in a more calm and relaxed state of mind. When we are relaxed and have reduced levels of anxiety or stress we are able to make better choices and decisions in our lives and have more positive interactions with others.
Also if you incorporate reading as part of your bedtime routine, reading before bed can help calm and ease your mind which leads to improved sleep patterns and the ability to fall asleep much faster. When you’re well rested and recharged we are able to help others more efficiently and have better focus for important tasks. Reading can also be an escape from stressors or worries that we face in our daily lives and can offer us a mental break from thereality of our world. Reading literature can be one of the mental distractions that connects us to creatively using our imagination as we learn new skills or just enjoy the journey of the characters we are reading about. Reading literature can help relieve stress and reduce anxiety for better mental, and emotional well being. Please leave a comment and share your opinions on the topic thank you. Stay prayed up and stay blessed.