Reap the Rewards of Reading

Research shows that reading regularly has impressive health benefits, such as improving your brain functioning, decreasing cognitive decline as you age, building your vocabulary and increasing empathy, which improves your ability to connect and communicate with your colleagues and loved ones. Reading for as little as 6 minutes a day has been shown to reduce stress by 68%.

If you find it challenging to read as much as you’d like to, don’t worry — there are proven methods to help you make reading a consistent part of your life.

5 Ways to Establish a Regular Reading Habit

1. Make it a treat — not a chore.
   Don’t think of reading as a task or chore you must do every day. If you approach reading as a treat — a means of self-care and a fun escape from everyday life – you’ll be much more likely to indulge.
2. Pick the format that works for you.
   If lugging around physical books is not for you, there are other ways to get your reading fix. Consider using an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle, which can hold thousands of books at a time and makes it easy to access and transport new titles. If you’re often driving or on the go, give audiobooks a try. There is no wrong way to engage with a story.
3. Start small and simple.
   Set realistic expectations and goals for yourself. You don’t have to read 100 pages a night or work your way through every book on a best seller list. Choose a genre or topic you care about, even if it seems silly, to help you get into the habit. Start small with a couple of pages a night and work up from there.
4. Use the “Rule of 50.”
   If you’re really struggling to get through a book, it may be the wrong one for you. A common practice in reading is to get to page 50 and then decide whether or not to give up on the book and find a new one.
5. Find a natural fit in your schedule.
   Swap out your morning social media scroll for a novel, replace music with an audiobook during your commute or walks, or read a few pages of a book to yourself or your children before you turn in for the night. In addition to the health benefits afforded to you, reading stories with your children supports their brain development, word learning and preliteracy skills.