Improve your business skills by reading. But not the type of books you think.
Recent neuroscientific studies of brain function at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia have found that burying yourself in the pages of a gripping novel enhances brain connectivity and improves brain function.
Fiction helps to reinforce the understanding that others have beliefs, interests, desires and fantasies that are often different from your own, while watching television undermines that ability.
Novels improve your people skills
improve your business skills by reading
According to psychology professor Art Markman, novels with strong character development can help you think more creatively about handling interpersonal issues. Chances are, most of your work frustrations have to do with people – lazy colleagues, unresponsive clients, deadlocked negotiations – and reading a novel lets you gain insights into the way people think and how that might differ from what they say.
Despite being a prolific writer of self-help books for business people, Prof Markman believes you should probably ignore the nonfiction department of your bookstore from time to time and grab a bunch of novels instead.
Robert Ludlum, Jane Austen or J K Rowling?
It seems to make little difference what kind of stories you choose. Science fiction, crime, war, period drama and, yes, even Harry Potter novels help us to experience a range of emotions and feelings almost as intently as the characters on the page.
Brain scans of fiction readers in a study at Washington University in St. Louis indicated that the test subjects reacted as if they were actually experiencing the events they were reading about.
Reading is our most effective stress relief
We’ve known for years from personal experience that reading is an effective way to relieve stress. It has been shown to induce a pleasurable, trance-like state similar to meditation and it brings the same health benefits of deep relaxation and inner calm.
A University of Sussex study tested the effects of reading on stress along with a number of other activities. Reading for as little as six minutes, they found, can reduce stress by 60%, slow your heart rate, ease muscle tension and alter your state of mind.
Their study showed that reading is 68% more effective at stress relief than listening to music, 100% more than drinking a cup of tea, 300% more than going for a walk and 600% more than playing a video game.
Express yourself: fiction readers have larger vocabularies
While all reading will help to improve and maintain your vocabulary, novels will do so to a greater extent than nonfiction. The reason is perhaps not surprising: fiction writers tend to use a greater variety of words and, if you really immerse yourself in a story, you’ll have a dictionary nearby in case you encounter a new word or phrase.
The difference in vocabulary size between heavy readers of fiction and those who don’t read much of it is staggering. Those who claim to read lots have an average of 30,000 words they can call on, while those who claim to read not much have fewer than 20,000.
Fiction fires up your creative juices too
Common sense suggests that good quality works of fiction are in themselves a masterclass in creativity. Putting yourself inside the character’s skin allows you understand the skills of the writer in bringing them so vividly to life.
As you read even a simple crime novel, questions rush upon you as you turn each page. Why was this character killed off so early? What powers of logical deduction did the detective use to work out who pulled the trigger? How does this flashback improve my understanding of where this story is heading?
Research conducted by the Creativity Research Journal suggests that reading fictional literature could, in their words, lead to better procedures for processing information generally, including those of creativity.
Why not just watch television instead?
No doubt fiction on television has its uses. It can be absorbing and entertaining but the mental state it induces is semi-hypnotic, caused mainly by the rhythmic flickering of the screen. In this zoned out mood, the higher brain activity slows down and viewers often fall asleep.
Extended hours in front of what your grandparents called ‘the idiot box’ induces weight gain from mindless eating, and disturbed sleep patterns caused by excessive exposure to the screen’s blue light. (Excessive use of a smartphone carries the same risk.)
According to the University of Pittsburgh, every television viewing hour increases the risk of developing obesity by 3.4% and a study published by the University of Texas at Austin shows clear links between watching television and depression.
There’s no doubt that in moderation the small screen has its upside. But, for helping us to understand the complexities of life, there’s nothing better than a good novel.
Happy reading.
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