Read any good books lately?

I have been invited to Guest Post TODAY!
The Power of Reading BOOKS
hosted by blogger Debby Gies [author D.G.Kaye]

© Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
Reblog with Intro from the Executive Functioning Series

On Deb’s Website HERE

Although she is in Toronto, Canada and I am “down south” in Cincinnati, Ohio, the miracle that is the blogging community has allowed us to develop a warm and wonderful virtual friendship.

For those who don’t already know her, Debby is a generous, popular and prolific blogger who is well-known for her memoirs filled with both heartfelt and humorous reflections on her own journey through life.

Uplifting and encouraging, each is written to offer positive support to anyone struggling with anything similar to the topics she tackles.

She is currently readying her next book for publication.

She asked me to give her a bit of time to focus on polishing the upcoming gem I’m sure it will be, honoring me by featuring something I would write especially for her regular Tuesday post.

So, of course, I chose to focus on what science has discovered about
the amazing brain-based benefits of reading a BOOK!

I’ll get you started below, and then send you over to read the entire article on her site. (or you can CLICK HERE to read the entire article over there right now)

I’ll respond to comments on either site – or both, if you choose.

I’ll bet most of you will be surprised to learn what science has discovered about the many great things book-readers are doing for their mental and physical health — simply by lounging on the couch reading a book!

If you are not already following Debby, click around while you’re there and get to know her and her books. You’ll be mighty glad you did.

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Reading a book has the power to reshape your brain
and improve your ability to relate to others

Reading more but enjoying it less?

Found HERE

Thanks to our ability to scroll through endless words on our computers, tablets and smart phones, more people are reading than ever before.

Still, while the act of reading itself has increased, there is a significant difference between reading anything and reading a book that pulls you into the mind of the author as you take a mental vacation.

Even hours of reading on FaceBook, or skipping from blog to blog reading multiple articles on various subjects, does not seem to have the same positive effect as reading a novel, a memoir or a carefully curated collection of short-stories.

And the more time we spend online, the less time we have for reading those wonderful books on our TBR lists (“To Be Read”).

That’s a real shame, too, because reading a good book is not only an enjoyable, affordable “vacation” that broadens our perspective, it turns out that science has discovered that it actually improves our brain functioning in ways that translate to improved thinking, mood, functional intelligence, more positive and productive connections in our lives, and so-much-MORE.

The impact of a BOOK

Reading a book not only gives us access to someone else’s mindset and world view, it also seems to increase our ability to empathize with people in our day to day lives.

I’m sure that most of us who are avid readers are well acquainted with the feeling of stepping into another world while we read. Most of us also find that our view of our “real” world changes for days afterwards, even when we are not actively thinking about the story-line, the subject matter or the characters.

In my own experience, for example, after spending an evening with a character I could see clearly in my mind’s eye, for a few days following I have often felt like I was reacting as they might have. Sometimes I have the almost eerie sensation that I have taken on that character’s mannerisms.

Science has discovered that there’s a brain-based reason for that experience.

“We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.” ~ neuroscientist Professor Gregory Berns

Being captured by the world of a book with a strong narrative can trigger measurable changes in the brain — changes that linger for at least five days after reading.

Reading books and changing brain cells

Research from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (published in the journal Brain Connectivity) found that reading a book can increase neural connectivity in a manner that mimics muscle memory.

Study changes were registered in two key areas of the brain:

1. the left temporal cortex, an area associated with language receptivity, as well as, surprisingly,
2. the brain’s primary sensory motor region, the central sulcus, associated with sensations and movement.

©Phillip Martin, artist/educator

Neurons of the second region have been associated with tricking the mind into thinking it is actually doing something by merely thinking yourself through the activity.

Referred to as “grounded cognition,” that is the explanation given for the effectiveness of the practice of mental rehearsal used effectively by many athletes.

Thanks to the phenomenon of grounded cognition, it seems that merely thinking about the specifics of an athletic activity can activate the neurons associated with the physical doing of that activity.

In some cases, practicing mentally has been reported to improve performance almost as much as if the athletes had strained and sweated their way through an actual practice session.

Who knew that the same areas could be activated by narrative reading?

“The anterior [front] bank of the sulcus contains neurons that control movement of parts of the body,” Berns, lead author of the study above explained. He went on to say that the posterior [back] region contains neurons that receive sensory input from various parts of the body.

The enhanced connectivity in the posterior region suggests that the act of reading “transports” the reader into the body of the protagonist. Amazing, right?

But wait! There’s more . . . (click HERE to read all about it)

Book Fountain, Cincinnati Public Library (symbolizing the free flow of information) | © Creative Commons, 2012 Jean-François Schmitz | Found HERE

Remember that you can always check out the sidebar
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HOVER before clicking – often a box will appear to tell you what to expect

Featured on Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Blogger Daily – Friday Aug. 18th 2017

Thanks so much to blogger, author and publisher Sally Cronin  . . .

…for featuring this post on her Smorgasbord Blogger Daily — alongside a stellar line-up of fabulous bloggers: Tony Riches/Wendy Janes, D.G. Kaye, Dan Alatorre/ Heather Kindt, and Christy Birmingham.

If you missed it (or are not already following Sally’s truly excellent Smorgasbord of delights on a great many topics), go take a look and click around.  TONS of good stuff over there.

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Thanks ALSO to some fabulous bloggers who shared this post with their communities:

Mr. Militant Negro on The Militant Negro™
Michael from
OIKOS™-Redaktion  on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!
Rae Longest on blogging807.
John Fioravanti on Words To Captivate ~ by John Fioravanti
DC Gilbert on Patriot Warrior

© 2017, all rights reserved
Check bottom of Home/New to find out the “sharing rules”
(reblogs always okay, and much appreciated)

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IN ANY CASE, do stay tuned.
There’s a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come – in this Series and in others.
Get it here while it’s still free for the taking.

Want to work directly with me? If you’d like some coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this Series (one-on-one couples or group), click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end (or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page). Fill out the form, submit, and an email SOS is on its way to me; we’ll schedule a call to talk about what you need. I’ll get back to you ASAP (accent on the “P”ossible!)

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You might also be interested in some of the following articles
available right now – on this site and elsewhere.

For links in context: run your cursor over the article above and the dark grey links will turn dark red;
(subtle, so they don’t pull focus while you read, but you can find them to click when you’re ready for them)
— and check out the links to other Related Content in each of the articles themselves —

Related articles right here on ADDandSoMuchMore.com

• Brain-based Coaching with Madelyn Griffith-Haynie
• Group Coaching Information LinkList
• Private Coaching Formats & Fees

• Brain-hacking – Moving Beyond the Brain you were Born With
• Turning on the light in “darkened” brains
• Brain-Based Coaching Basics: watch videos, change your brain
• You don’t HAVE to lose it as you age
• Good news on brain-aging from The Nun Study
• The Executive Functioning Series of Articles

Related Articles ’round the net

• How Reading Rewires Your Brain (sharing a SHOCKING statistic that 1 in 4 American children grow up without learning to read)
• Study: Hobbies can help slow Alzheimer’s (USA Today))
• Reading a novel triggers lasting changes in the brain (Medical News Today)
• Reading Fiction Improves Brain Connectivity and Function (Psychology Today)
• Embodied and grounded cognition (Frontiers)
• Grounded vs. embodied cognition (PsychScienceNotes)
• Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain (study)
• A Brief Guide to Embodied Cognition: Why You Are Not Your Brain (SciAm)
• 6 Science-backed reasons why reading is good for your brain (HuffPost)
• How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation (PLOS)

BY THE WAY: Since ADDandSoMuchMore.com is an Evergreen site, I revisit all my content periodically to update links — when you link back, like, follow or comment, you STAY on the page. When you do not, you run a high risk of getting replaced by a site with a more generous come-from.