Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body

As the English poet Addison notes: "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." And the brilliant Charents likens the world of books to a boundless universe, dedicating a special ode to the book. In the history of humankind, there is no genius who would deny the importance of reading and books. Even scientists have proven the importance of reading for humans. It not only helps you become intelligent but can also, essentially, improve your brain's function. For example, just as running improves your cardiovascular system, regular reading improves memory by exercising your brain. With age, memory and brain function decline, but reading helps slow down this process, keeping the mind sharper. Frequent brain exercises can reduce brain aging by about 32 percent.

Despite the fact that more and more people are acquiring e-books, it is worth hoping that printed books will not disappear. People who read e-books still continue to read printed ones. And although we all advocate for digital convenience, we cannot deprive ourselves of the pleasure of reading old printed books.

There is nothing better than the smell of old books or the crack of a new spine; plus, you never have battery problems. And it turns out that all this is also beneficial for your health and happiness.

The more you read, the more you learn. A good book opens up a whole world of knowledge for you from a very young age. Fiction helps its readers understand what others think by reading about the inner world of other people. The impact is much greater for those who read fiction, as opposed to those who read professional literature.

Reading before bed can help you sleep better. By making it a habit, you signal to your brain that it's time to go to sleep. Reading a book relaxes you more than looking at a screen before bed. Tablet and e-reader screens, in fact, keep you awake longer and even disrupt your sleep. This also applies to children.

Parents want their children to read more for pleasure, and those who want to encourage their children to become book lovers can start by reading aloud at home. For example, reading aloud to children from an early age can inspire them to become frequent readers or children who read five to seven days a week purely for pleasure. This is a good way to make it a hobby. Children's books increase children's vocabulary by more than 50 percent compared to television.

Reading a lot at an early age lays the foundation for higher intellectual abilities later on. The foundation for a person's versatile development is laid in elementary school. A significant section in the elementary school native language curriculum is devoted to reading. Its purpose is to develop reading and storytelling skills, enrich speech and vocabulary, and cognitive knowledge. Reading a lot can make it easier for a child to interact with their surroundings.

Sayings about reading from some of the world's great figures:

• An accidental encounter with a good book can change a person's destiny forever. - Marcel Prévost

• Books are the voices of the distant and the departed; they make us the heirs of the spiritual life of past centuries. - Channing

• First read the best books, otherwise it may happen that you don't read them at all. - Thoreau

• Books are safe and cold friends. - Victor Hugo

• A book should be read with a pencil or pen in hand. Nothing shapes taste and accuracy of judgment as much as the habit of copying a liked passage or noting a profound thought. - André Maurois

• Each of us is a closed book to others. - Romain Rolland

• A good book is a book written by a good person. - William Saroyan

• Life should be filled with books that are full of life. - Marcus Aurelius

• Books are a reflection of the world, containing its infinite depth, diversity, and unpredictability. - Jean-Paul Sartre

• A book is good if the author expresses in it only what is necessary, and in the way it should be. - Aristotle

• Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, and their own content. - Paul Valéry

• Remember: what you represent is determined by what you read. - Jim Rohn