When was the last time you fell asleep reading a book? Or which was the last book you finished without being distracted by Facebook or Instagram? That one little hiccup ends up consuming hours before you realize you wasted all your time browsing through silly cat videos. Or have you felt that your head was clogged and no words were getting through when you were trying to finish writing a cool story?

If you can relate to these instances, maybe it’s time you wipe the dust off your stack of books and dive back into them.

A recent study has shown that more than what you think, it’s what you read that plays an important role in making a you a better writer. 

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People who engage in deep reading are better writers. 

According to an eye-opening study published in the International Journal of Business Administration, researchers found that reading has a direct relation with cognition. The study says that the impact of engaged reading as opposed to distracted reading (when you just skim through a blog) is much higher. The reason being, when you’re engrossed in the pages of a book, you’re so absorbed in the subject matter that it feels real and triggers emotions and strong feelings. The same is not true for light reading, which only includes the understanding of words and no retention of subject matter.

 

Not only a person is more focused and attentive during deep reading, but it also simulates the neurological regions which leads the brain into believing that we’ve experienced the entire narrative. This entire exercise, which is absent in light-reading, makes a person more empathetic.

 

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Reading poems and literary fiction instead of watching TV helps.

The study goes on to state that reading poems, as compared to reading prose, evokes strong emotions by activating the posterior cingulate cortex and medial temporal lobes. These are the parts of the brain associated with introspection. Reading literary fiction, on the other hand, makes one better equipped to understand other people’s emotions and their state of being.

 

Reading anything that’s rich in sensory detail is like a workout for the brain. It provokes thought, contemplation, expansion, and integration in an individual, thus raising the emotional intelligence quotient.
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So, what are you reading now?