Story Time

"Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home."

-Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life

The luxury of settling down to read a book is not only one of life’s simple pleasures but also a guaranteed way to slow down your day.

Reading really is an immersive experience, evidence shows that when reading, we can actually physically change our brain structure, become more empathetic, and even trick our brains into thinking we've experienced what we've only read in novels. When we read, the brain does not make a real distinction between reading about an experience and actually living it. Whether reading or experiencing it, the same neurological regions are stimulated.

We create worlds in our minds when we read, worlds that may be vastly different from the ones we are living in, reading lifts us out of the mundane and into our imaginations Imagination has many benefits. It encourages creativity, which brings about new ideas. It also takes a huge part in innovation. Imagination enables people to be able to come up with new inventions and new ideas. It also pushes discovery and understanding. Martha C. Pennington and Robert P. Waxler state in “Why Reading Books Still Matters: The Power of Literature in Digital Times”,

“If imagination and magical thinking connected to reason spur discovery, innovation, and new understandings, it can be maintained that literature has a key role in both developing and engaging imaginative and magical thinking”

It feels great to lose yourself in a book, as we let go of the emotional and mental chatter found in the real world, we enjoy deep reading that allows us to feel what the characters in a story feel. And this in turn makes us more empathetic to people in real life, becoming more aware and alert to the lives of others.

You might choose to settle in and listen to an audio book, research has shown that the act of listening to a story can light up your brain. When we're told a story, not only are language processing parts of our brain activated, experiential parts of our brain come alive, too, so if you’d rather lay back and be told a story, go ahead & enjoy it thoroughly.

SET UP

Make your nest as comfortable as you can, have your blanket, pillows and lighting just the way you like it.

Have something to drink & nibble on near you, this will save you getting up to fetch them later

Relax., take a couple of deep breaths before reading

Take your time you’re reading for enjoyment, there’s no pressure to read quickly.

Try reading poetry aloud, paying attention to line breaks and punctuation, can help you discover things about the text that you wouldn't if you read it silently.

Light a candle, incense or add some essential oils to the diffuser.

Hang a do not disturb sign on the door if your house is busy.

Allow yourself to daydream, stories are fuel for the imagination after all.