If you’re not reading books, ask yourself why? People who read books have larger vocabularies, more neural pathways, better critical thinking skills and higher IQs. In short, winners read books, and it doesn’t matter the type of book. It can be fiction, non-fiction, self-help or a textbook. Though, the latter tends to be pretty dry, and way too expensive.
Reading Can Literally Increase Your IQ
If you’ve been wandering through life going – I’m just not smart. My IQ is low. I come from poor genetic stock, maybe you should read more. Studies have show that reading thirty minutes every day can increase your IQ. While a definitive number isn’t placed on the official articles, some unofficial sources claim that someone’s IQ could be raised by as much as 50 points. Of course, they also mean reading books, not memes and fake quotes on the internet. I’m pretty sure that lowers your IQ by 1 point per meme or stupid quote read.
Reading Can Help Stave Off Dementia
Dementia is a terrible, terrible disease. It’s defined as the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning to such an extent that it interferes with a person's daily life and activities. Dementia is the catch-all term. It covers:
1. Alzheimer's Disease
- Characteristics: The most common type of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases. It involves memory loss, confusion, mood changes, and difficulty with language and judgment.
- Causes: Accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain.
2. Vascular Dementia
- Characteristics: Often occurs after a stroke or other condition that affects blood flow to the brain. Symptoms include impaired judgment, difficulty with problem-solving, slowed thinking, and memory loss.
- Causes: Damage to blood vessels in the brain, which reduces blood flow and leads to brain cell death.
3. Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)
- Characteristics: Symptoms include visual hallucinations, movement difficulties similar to Parkinson’s disease, and fluctuations in cognitive abilities.
- Causes: Presence of Lewy bodies (abnormal protein deposits) in the brain.
4. Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
- Characteristics: Affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to personality changes, impaired judgment, and language difficulties. Memory loss occurs in later stages.
- Causes: Degeneration of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes.
5. Mixed Dementia
- Characteristics: Involves a combination of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and sometimes Lewy body dementia.
- Causes: The co-occurrence of different brain changes.
6. Parkinson's Disease Dementia
- Characteristics: Occurs in some people with Parkinson’s disease, leading to memory problems, impaired thinking, and difficulty with attention.
- Causes: The progression of Parkinson’s disease and presence of Lewy bodies.
7. Huntington's Disease Dementia
- Characteristics: An inherited condition that causes memory loss, cognitive decline, and movement problems.
- Causes: Genetic mutation leading to the degeneration of nerve cells.
8. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
- Characteristics: A rare and rapidly progressing form of dementia. Symptoms include memory loss, behavioral changes, and movement difficulties.
- Causes: Abnormal prion proteins that cause brain damage.
9. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
- Characteristics: Often associated with chronic alcohol abuse, leading to confusion, memory problems, and vision changes.
- Causes: Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency.
10. Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)
- Characteristics: Includes walking difficulties, urinary incontinence, and mild cognitive impairment.
- Causes: Accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain's ventricles.
And let me tell you, you do not want this in your life. For the person that has dementia, they lose their mind. Family members watch the person they love disappear. In fact, there are lots of channels on YouTube where you can see what dementia does.
Now, I’m not saying that reading is the be-all-end-all preventative cure for dementia, but every study out there says that if you want to keep your brain intact, you need to stay physically active and mentally active. Obviously, that means you need to buy audiobooks and hike while you listen. But not in bear country. Don’t listen to audiobooks in bear country.
Create More Neurons
People who read have more neurons in their brains. Neurons are incredibly important. They are the cells that transmit information throughout the body. Reading helps improve neurons due to neuroplasticity. That’s right. Neurons are flexible. They can change in response to experience. This adaptability allows the brain to reorganize itself by forming new connections and strengthening existing ones, which is crucial for learning, recovery from brain injuries, and adapting to new situations. So, obviously, the more neurons you have, the better your cognitive function. Read more books for better brain cells.
Improve Your Creativity
It’s important to note that IQ does not measure creativity, but reading books can make you smart and creative. Reading fiction stimulates the imagination and ignites creativity. It encourages readers to think about alternate realities, complex characters and different worldviews, which fosters innovative thinking, and that’s something we could definitely use more of in this world.
So, What Happens if You Become Smart and Creative by Reading Books?
Well, obviously, you’re a winner. Smart, creative people do things. They can figure out how to overcome problems, and they just might even save some money. After all, if you’re smart and creative, you might learn to paint. If you can paint, you can make your own wall art for the cost of materials. You might also perform better at work. Remember, reading helps improve critical thinking skills, so your brain might just figure out a solution to that pesky work problem. Fiction books have also been known to provide real life advice. I mean, imagine learning the Heimlich maneuver from a book and then saving someone from choking. It’s happened. Imagine being a doctor and your patient has a mysterious illness…. That just happens to match the symptoms in a book you were reading…. It’s happened.
Be a winner. Read more books.
