Reading is an amazing pass-time activity or can be a great tool for self-development. Whether you’re reading for entertainment purposes or studying to acquire a new skill or to gather information about a certain topic, your time is very well-spent when reading.

Luckily, experts have determined that we can take advantage of the benefits of reading even after a short 20 minutes reading session.

By reading 20 minutes a day, you expose yourself to 1.8 million words in a year

When you dedicate only 20 minutes of your time to reading every day, it is estimated that you will get exposed to 1.8 million words yearly leading to increased general knowledge, communication and analytical skills, and you will obviously enrich your vocabulary substantially.

Children who read 20 minutes a day score in the 90th percentile

Children who take their time and read for approximately twenty minutes daily are exposed to a large number of books and stories throughout the year, improving their understanding and analytical skills while also enriching their vocabulary and shaping their personalities

This has been shown to eventually result in them scoring in the 90th percentile which depicts increased academic performance. Considering the decreasing school performance of children all around the world due to the constantly increasing time spent on social media platforms and gaming, getting your child to read for just twenty minutes every day can make a huge difference. 

Reading can relieve stress by 68% in a lot less than 20 minutes

Studies show that reading every day can reduce the level of stress that your body may experience. When you spend at least 20 minutes reading, you ultimately reduce your stress, anxiety, and the chances of suffering from insomnia. It has been proven that only 6 minutes of reading can reduce stress by 68% Imagine what you can achieve in twenty.

Taking 20 minutes to read every day can boost mental health

Reading has may health benefits, but since most of the magic happens in your brain, it’s only natural that your brain benefits the most from reading.

We all know that our brain in like a muscle, and a 20 minutes reading session per day is a great workout, similar to cardio training.

Become a more empathetic person through 20 minutes of reading a day

Another well known and documented benefit of reading is the fact that both children and adults who read have higher levels of empathy and emotional intelligence. 

In a world that is becoming more technical by the day and with so many of our peers closing up and hiding behind their phone screens, emotional intelligence is becoming a more and more valuable personality trait.

Luckily, among the many other things that determine the importance of reading 20 minutes a day is also the fact that perusing a good book can basically make us better human beings altogether.

By exposing our minds (or our child’s mind) to different life stories, the feelings and thoughts of different characters and discovering how those feelings and thoughts influence their actions in a book, makes it easier for us in the long run to understand other people’s feelings in real life.