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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things You Are Not Allowed To Do During Holy Week (Or So They Say)

Image
       Today is Holy Tuesday, three days away from Good Friday. For many, this is the week to be holy (pun intended). The week for an individual to repent or show how good a christian he is. Ask a priest or any religious person  and they will most likely tell you that the following things are not allowed this week(especially on Good Friday and Black Saturday):        Gorging        Meat        Sex        Porn        Cursing        Vices        Loud music        R-Rated films        Dirty thoughts        Singing (loud music)        Dancing (to loud music)        Bathing (just kidding, it is allowed, of course)        Some acquiesce to this and act all haloed the whole week—then break it when the week’s over. But many will ignore it and go to Boracay and dance naked at the beach while the dolphins watch.   (Okay, there are no dolphins in Boracay and people watch dolphins, not the other way around.)        Our family stays quiet   and shuns meat and
Read more

"Hey, This Song Has Built A House Inside My Head!"

Image
If you'd notice, I'd put a little musical thingamajig somewhere on this blog and I called it Last Song Syndrome. Last Song Syndrome, of course, happens when a song you just heard refuses to leave your mind for hours or even for days. You sing it or hum it while working or while taking a bath or changing your baby's or your granddad's diaper or taking your dog for a walk or just bumming around. I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd songs so most often than not, it is a Pink Floyd song that will always swirl inside my head. But I also listen to other musicians. I'll try to dissect and write a small background of every song that I will feature in this blog. The Final Cut is one of my fave Pink Floyd songs. Very emotional, very depressing and has great vocals by Roger Waters , it is one of the songs from the album The Final Cut (an anti-war CD that was released in 1983), the last album where Roger Waters (Pink Floyd's main songwriter) took part in. After that album, Water
Read more

Wait For Her (The Song And The Poem)

Image
       “Wait For Her,” a ballad from Roger Waters’ new album, Is This The Life We Really Want, was inspired from the following poem by Palestinian poet and writer Mahmoud Darwish.  Mr. Waters set melody to it, tweaked some words and the result, a hauntingly smart love song. Lesson From The Kama Sutra (Wait For Her) By Mahmoud Darwish (Translation by Dr. Fayeq Oweis) With a glass inlaid with gemstones, wait for her   on a pool around the evening and among the perfumed roses, wait for her… with the patience of a horse destined for the slopes of the mountains, wait for her… with a distinctive aesthetic taste of a prince, wait for her… with seven pillows stuffed with light clouds, wait for her… with the fire of women incense filling the place, wait for her… with the scent of a male sandals on horseback, wait for her… and do not rush it, if she arrives late then wait for her… and if she arrives early, wait for her… do
Read more