The Health Benefits of Reading Regularly



     Whenever my three year old nephew visits us, he always spends some time in front of my (desktop) computer, typing the alphabet, numbers, his name, our names and other strange words and watching YouTube videos. Last week, he was at it again, busy with the computer.  When my nephew left, I went to the computer and saw several windows and tabs open. Nothing unusual, except that on the next day, I couldn’t find a file ( a story which I am currently working on, with more than 12K words). I searched for it, to no avail. Did he delete it permanently? I don’t know. 

     But I took it as a sign for me to stop writing and concentrate on further honing my dishwashing and rice cooking skills (my chores in the house) and, yes, reading. I bought a few books (a couple of them still wrapped) from Booksale during the holidays (aside from the other unread books I own) and I still haven’t found the time to read them—until now. Thanks to my nephew who probably only wanted me to stop treating FB statuses as essential reading materials and start reading books again.

     The file is still missing, like an astronaut stranded in outer space, and I have no plans yet of writing a new story, but I’m about to finish reading a book. And do you know that regular reading, aside from making you smart, has health benefits? Yes, it keeps your brain healthy and lowers the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, it improves your memory and alleviates anxiety and depression, it destresses you and helps you fall asleep easily and live longer and of course, it makes you happy. But no, it won’t help you lose weight, unless you read while on treadmill.

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