What Happens If You Read 2 Hours a Day?

Reading for two hours a day: 

• Enhances your memory.
• Improves cognitive function.
• Boosts your productivity.
• Reduces stress.
• Improves your relationships.
• Prolongs your lifespan. 

A consistent reading habit positively influences your mental and physical health. It can significantly improve the overall quality of your life.  

This article will explain how reading improves our life. We will present findings from different studies to demonstrate the effect reading has. 

We will even give you various tips and links for tools and courses to help you read faster and retain more information.

What happens when you read 2 hours a day?

1. Improved cognitive functions

Reading stimulates different brain areas that enhance your cognition, making you mentally fit and agile. 

Your brain is a highly adaptable organ. The more you put it to good use, the more it grows and develops. 

Tohoku University, Japan, researchers showed that age-associated cognitive decline could be remarkably reduced through reading and solving arithmetic problems.

The National Institute of Aging reports that reading books and magazines can help your mind remain active and vital with increasing age.

2. Strengthening of memory

Reading helps to increase your brain capacity to retain an even greater amount of information. It also strengthens your brain to actively recall the stored information any time you want.

Reading has also been found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by about 2.5 times. Alzheimer’s is a neurological disorder characterized by progressive loss of memory.

You can significantly improve your memory through specialized reading and memorization techniques. 

One of these techniques is the chunking memory strategy. It will allow you to process and retain information at a much faster pace.  

3. Enhanced productivity

Reading allows your brain to process information more efficiently. It improves your ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand. 

It increases your attention span, so you can get more work done without getting distracted. 

Various reading strategies can maximize your productivity. If you are trying to get more work done in a day, we suggest you check them out!

4. Increase in knowledge

When you are reading, you are consistently gaining knowledge; be it literary or scientific, you learn something new every day. 

It opens numerous avenues for you to explore and contribute to. It allows you to change your perspective for the better.

Reading newspapers and magazines increases your overall general knowledge as compared to others. 

5. More profound vocabulary

Reading can help you build an impressive vocabulary. Scientists at Lancaster University found that students who have regular reading habits manage to develop a large vocabulary at a young age. 

A more extensive vocabulary can help in effective communication with others. It enables you to give more valuable input and make the conversations more interesting. 

6. Improved writing skills

With a more excellent vocabulary, you will become a better writer. Thus, reading can help you improve your writing skills. 

When you are reading, you notice different writing styles. This helps find your own writing style while being influenced by the written material. 

Writing is also improved with practice and yet more reading.

7. Sharpens problem-solving skills

Reading makes your brain smarter. Daily mental exercise subconsciously makes your mind think more critically. It also helps in developing better analytical skills. 

Many of us love to read mystery, crime, or sci-fi books. They help in developing skills that enable you to think outside the box. 

Hence, reading can make us efficient problem-solvers.

8. Improved reading speed

Reading regularly can improve your reading speed. You will be able to read more words per minute without losing comprehension.

Speed reading allows you to learn and retain more information in less time. It enables your brain to process information more quickly, enhancing your cognitive abilities.

9. You experience new ideas

If you read about experiences, you will feel like you are living through them in real life. 

The brain cannot distinguish between reading and actually living an experience. This helps in retaining information just from reading from someone else’s experience. 

It also introduces you to foreign cultures, lands, languages, and beliefs. 

You get to travel around the world, real and/or fictional, from the comforts of your reading spot.  

10. Reduced stress

Reading what you love allows you to relax and helps to alleviate stress.

Reading can have a therapeutic effect on your mind. It helps in reducing anxiety and stabilizing your mood.

Researchers at the University of Sussex found that with only 6 minutes of reading, stress levels are reduced by 68%.

Reading serves to remedy depression. For instance, reading fiction allows you to immerse in a fantasy. It gives you a temporary escape from sadness and despair.

11. Improved quality of sleep

Bedtime reading puts your mind at ease. This allows you to have a peaceful rest and wake up energized.

It also eliminates the risk of getting distracted by the endless content of television and the internet. 

Right before bedtime, the blue light coming from digital screens disrupts our circadian rhythms; it leads to a poorer quality of sleep.

On the other hand, books don’t pose a threat to your sleep cycles. They help you relax and cradle you into a comfortable, cozy rest.

12. Greater empathy

Reading instills empathy. It allows you to be more aware of others’ feelings. This enables you to mend and improve relationships. 

When you read about new ideas and concepts you gain insight and a different outlook. 

It allows you to become more tolerant of others’ beliefs and ideas. It helps develop mutual respect and understanding for your fellow human beings. 

13. Prolonged lifespan

Scientists from Yale have found that avid readers tend to live longer than people who don’t read. 

3,635 adults participated in a 12-year long study. It was found that book readers lived 2 years longer than non-book readers. Book readers also had a 20% lower mortality rate compared to non-book readers.

Reading can minimize the adverse effects of a stressful life, thus prolonging your life.

What happens if you read 30 minutes a day?

Reading for 30 minutes a day can strengthen your brain. Improved brain connectivity has been observed just by reading consistently for ten days. 

In 2016, scientists discovered that reading for more than 15 minutes can increase reading gains. Students who read for 30 minutes get exposed to a higher number of new words.   

It improves our ability to comprehend language. Taking time to read and understand each word allows more time for the brain to process and internalize the information.

A 30-minute reading session can help relieve stress as quickly as 30 minutes of low-intensity yoga. It can take your mind off the pressures and worries – a great way to unwind after a tiring day.

Reading for just 30 minutes is an excellent place to begin to develop a reading habit. 

It will be easier if you are short on time and will enhance your mental capabilities and intelligence.

It allows you to be more informed and well-versed. It also provides valuable insight on any topic. 

Reading regularly will give you a superior edge at any age and place.

Conclusion

Reading is one of the most pleasurable hobbies that you can take up. 

Not only will it strengthen your mental and physical abilities, but it will also improve your relationships, making you a better person in general.

Reading every day will allow you to escape the mundane reality of everyday life and experience new things. You can meet new characters and explore new worlds every single day. 

If you feel like you don’t want to read because it takes too long, try this tool to help you improve your reading speed. With this tool, reading would become a piece of cake for you!

So what are you waiting for? 

If, until now, you have never read a book, it is time to pick one and enjoy the pleasures of reading. It is never too late to choose a new hobby!