Reading is Good for You…. and Your Creativity

I come from a long line of readers. My favorite memories as a child are getting books for birthday or Christmas and going to the library.  In fact right now an image popped in my head of me standing at the New Books section of the Green Bay, Wisconsin library as a teenager while at the library with my mother.

I spend much of last summer reading.  I did so much reading, that I began to wonder if something was wrong with me.  So I got on the internet and found that actually the opposite was true.  Reading is good for you.

Studies have shown, for children, reading not only increases their vocabulary but also increases their grades in school.  The more a child reads the higher their grades will be.  I have a set of books my mother bought me when I was a child called the “Best in Children’s Books”.  Each book contained an abridged novel such as Black Beauty or Alice in Wonderland.  There were usually a number of poems or short stories, some activity of some sort, a little bit of science or nature, a short biography and my favorite “Let’s visit” where some area of the world was highlighted. It included a map, local vegetation and animals, and activities of the people who lived there. I think that is where my love of other cultures came from.

For adults, research shows that reading helps delay memory decline and those who keep their mind active are less likely to suffer from dementia.  It also helps reduce stress.  When you are reading whether it is fiction or nonfiction, you are not thinking about the stresses of the day.  Your reading is taking you away, at least mentally, to a place far from where your body actually is.  If you are not thinking about stressful events, your body is not reacting to stressful events.

I also read that reading before bedtime helps relax you enough that you sleep better.  Now I recommend (and this is not based on any research) that you don’t read a very violently graphic book before bed. The violence might seep into your dreams.  But then that could just be me.

What I noticed last summer with all my reading was that I came up with more ideas for quilts and punchneedle and embroidery.  I was reading books, mostly mysteries, which took place in different areas of the country from where I lived and involved characters that had different interests than mine.  One series of mysteries took place in a tea shop.  I am not a drinker of tea but I began an interest in different teas, and teapots and tea cups and those images became part of what I created.

And whether it was the reduced stress or better sleeping that came from reading, I seemed to have more energy to create even with so much time spent on reading.  The reading also pulled me to the library again (I hadn’t been to my local library in a couple of years) and there I found all kinds of activities going on like yoga and meditation, quilt classes, coloring for adults and book clubs.  And this doesn’t even include what they have for children which would keep an child active.  Libraries these days are more than a place to check out books. 

Much of the research I read was done on fiction reading but I would think nonfiction would have the same affect (of lessening stress and dementia).  I love biographies and books about other people also pull me into another time and place.

So get yourself a book and start reading. Or go to the library and see what adventures they have for you in the pages of the books or the activities they sponsor (either for you or your kids or grandkids).  It will help with your stress, your mind, and can help with your creativity.   So go read.

©2017 Cheryl Fillion