Do you want to know a secret for living a stress-free healthy life? Well, it's something you're doing right now – reading! Reading for enjoyment is a quick "escape" from worries or the day-to-day round. How else can you travel the world without leaving your armchair, meet fascinating people, visit the past, and make whole other world come alive? But reading doesn't only stretch your imagination. Once you settle into a good book, you actually become more physically relaxed.
You're drawn into another world, and your breathing regulates and slows. And engaging in reading takes your attention away from any problems or thoughts that may be scurrying around over and over in your mind. It can act like a mental "circuit breaker," literally giving your mind a rest. I know that, for myself, I like to curl up with a good book as a way of unwinding at the end of a busy day. Even the phrase "curling up with a good book" suggests a cozy, relaxing feeling!
As a matter of fact, the National Health System in the UK believed so much in the therapeutic power of reading that it instituted a program with local libraries to help promote reading as a source of relaxation, and a way of reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
And just the act of reading helps stimulate the right side of the brain and becomes a creative experience, because it's like a dialogue between the reader and the author. You share in all the emotions evoked – laughing out loud at something funny, or on the edge of your seat with suspense, or even having a "good cry."
So, read any good books lately?
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