Bookworms would say you should be reading all day, every day. But who really has time for that in today’s busy world? If we are honest, most of our reading habits center around following celebrities, checking out newsfeeds on Facebook, and reading a few articles online. Does this count as reading? And should you read every day?
Yes, you should be reading every day. The power of reading should not be underestimated. Daily reading has numerous benefits not only for your mind, but also your body, mental health, and life in general.
While it is all well and good that reading has so many benefits, do you really have time to read a few pages of The Game of Thrones or Bridgerton, or a chapter or two in The Gifts of Imperfection or Becoming every day?
We have tips on how you can make time to fit reading in your busy schedule to reap all of the wonderful benefits. Stick around to learn more!
What Does the Science Say? 10 Benefits of Reading Daily
There are numerous benefits of reading every day. What are they and can you benefit?
| Reading Benefits | The Why |
| 1. Strengthens your mind | MRI scans prove that reading (during the scans and even afterward) helps increase brain connectivity. |
| 2. Increases empathy | A study published in Science found that readers of literary fiction have an increased ability to empathize with other people. |
| 3. Helps prevent Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline | In a controlled study, it was found that senior citizens improved their cognitive functioning when they remained mentally active by reading and keeping their brains engaged in moderately challenging ways. The key here is starting sooner in life rather than later. |
| 4. Helps you sleep better | The Mayo Clinic recommends including reading as part of your bedtime routine. Read from a paper- or hardback book instead of an e-reader to avoid the blue light emitted by the smart device. |
| 5. Improves your vocabulary and world knowledge | Research into the Matthew effect (those with more, will have more, and vice versa) has found that readers who read more develop better vocabulary skills than those who don’t read. If you are an avid reader and complete an Author Recognition Test (ART), your vocabulary and fact-based knowledge may be 50% higher compared to someone who doesn’t read regularly. |
| 6. Alleviates stress | Research published in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning found that just 30 minutes of reading can decrease stress, lower your heart rate, and balance your blood pressure. |
| 7. Decreases depression symptoms | People suffering from depression sometimes feel isolated. Reading can help them escape and better manage their symptoms as they can delve into the worlds and experiences of the characters on paper or on the screen. |
| 8. Boosts flexibility and creativity | Readers of fiction experience more flexibility and creativity than readers of non-fiction as their need for cognitive closure, which is how quickly you need to reach a conclusion, is diminished. In reading fiction, readers don’t need to reach the ending soon, and being more flexible, they can just enjoy the story and where it leads them. |
| 9. Improves longevity | The Survival Advantage of Reading Books study found that people who read at least 30 minutes a day live, on average, 2 years longer. |
| 10. Help you focus more | Reading requires that you only focus on the activity at hand, and thus, reading for a set period of time every day ensures you stay focused. This helps you be more productive overall. |
6 Steps to Developing a Daily Reading Habit
Reading daily might be on your list of New Year’s resolutions every year, but unless you start making this a habit today, it will just stay a resolution: always something you want to do or something you may stick to for a few days or a week at the most, and nothing more.
How do you make reading daily a habit? Follow our 6 steps to make reading a reality every day:
Step 1: Make Reading a Priority
Set a specific amount of time aside each day that is best for reading and keep this the same time every day. For example, if you focus better in the mornings, you can read while you have your first cup of java.
Step 2: Set Your Reading Goal
This goal can be short-term (how many pages or chapters you want to read that day) or longer-term (how many books you want to read that month or year).
Step 3: Make a Reading Wishlist
Once you’ve set your short- and long-term reading goals, make a list of books you’d like to read that year. Keep note of these on a note app on your phone or tablet, or you can add this wishlist to your journal.
Step 4: Learn to Enjoy Reading
Learning to love reading can be done by:
- Finding books in genres that interest you. If you’d love to focus on self-development and self-care, then type in those keywords in Google and see what recommended books pop up.
- Creating the right reading environment. If you prefer paper- or hardbacks, then pick a cozy chair (how about this chair or this unusual one?) where you can read. If you are into ebooks, then get a tablet pillow pad or tablet stand. Or invest in an e-reader that has the best qualities in terms of screen size, battery life, brightness, and more.
Step 5: Get a Reading Buddy or Join a Book Club
While you can make your goals on your own, sometimes having help is just better and more fun. Get an accountability partner who can read with you or join a book/reading club.
Step 6: Track Your Habit
In your journal or on a spreadsheet, note whether you have met your reading goal for the day, what book you are busy with, how much you have read, and how much time you spent reading. For more help with tracking, you can check out the Bookling App or this video.
Our article on how to create healthy routines to help you stick to your good habits can provide you with more information about the topic of habits.
5 Tips to Find Time to Read
To harvest the benefits of reading daily, you don’t have to spend hours and hours reading. And yes, building and maintaining a daily reading habit is key. We all know we sometimes get too busy or distracted, and then it is challenging to stick to habits, no matter how much we want to … or how much we try.
Here are 5 tips to help you find time to read and help you stick to the reading habit you have created:
- Get Rid of Misconceptions
If you don’t like the book you are reading or you just don’t get into it by page 50, drop it. There is no rule that says you must finish every book you start.
Rather find and read something you enjoy—you are sure to maintain your reading habit by doing this.
- Say No to Distractions
Distractions can come from your family, roommate, or even the devices you have lying around, like your mobile phone. When it is your reading time, make sure the people in your house know not to disturb you—unless there is an emergency, of course.
Leave your phone in the kitchen or use an app to monitor your screen time.
- Use Technology to Help You
You can squeeze in extra reading time with an e-reader or the Kindle app on your phone while you wait in line or before an appointment.
- Break up Your Reading Time
When your day or week is super hectic, you don’t need to try and fit in reading for a long(er) period of time. Instead, see if you can find 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there.
- Continue Working on Your Reading Habit
In his book The Power of Habit and this Tedx video on habits, Charles Duhigg states that every habit has a cue—it’s what triggers the habit—and a reward.
Great rewards, like reduced stress and improved focus, and great cues, like the smell of coffee first thing in the morning, help you turn an activity, like reading, into a life-long habit.
Should You Read Every Day FAQs
1. How much time should you spend reading every day?
A 24-year long study by the University of Michigan found that you should be reading a dedicated minimum of 30 minutes a day. If you read for half an hour every day (which is nothing, really), you might live two years longer.
2. What should you read every day?
What you read matters just as much as the time you read daily. While you may think you can read news and articles online, in magazines, or newspapers, it is best to read books in the non-fiction, fiction, literary prose, or poetry genres.
Get Your Read On
Reading is a must-do activity every day if you want to keep your mind active, reduce stress and depression, and increase your creativity, flexibility, vocabulary, productivity, and empathy skills.
If you are not yet an avid reader or only read when you have time off from work, then the first step to scooping up all the great benefits of reading is to create a healthy daily reading habit. You can do so by:
- Prioritizing reading
- Setting a goal for reading and making a reading list
- Following our tips for learning how to enjoy reading (if you don’t already)
- Finding a book club
- Tracking your habit
Once you’ve created your everyday reading habit, you need to maintain it by setting aside time to read, reading in bursts of 10 minutes at a minimum, saying no to distractions, and using technology to help you.
Are you ready to get reading? We’ve already gotten our book ready; have you?