Remember when you were in elementary school and you’d be rewarded for your ability to read quickly and accurately?
There was more to that than stickers and pizza parties, speed reading is actually really great for your brain.
Speed reading is not just about being able to read at a rapid rate. If you can read quickly, that is great, but actually retaining what you are reading is twice as important.
However, speed reading is different from scanning. When you scan a document, you are quickly glancing over the material and looking for the highlights.
Speed reading is where you read a document, retaining all information and key points.
Being able to read rapidly is a great skill to have as you will glean all pertinent details rather than just the major bullet points.
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Table of Contents
Benefits of Speed Reading
Below, you’ll find a list of the many benefits of speed reading and why it’s an important skill to learn if you want to improve your life.
A Healthy Mind
Think back again to when you were in elementary school. Many teachers challenged their students to read as much as they could, as fast as they could without missing the key details.
The reason for this was to practice while your brain was still developing.
Reading is brain food.
It challenges the mind to win the race, and to retain all sorts of new information.
Thus, speed reading strengthens your brain and keeps it healthy and on top of things.
Sharp Focus
If your mind is healthier, you will be able to focus more. Especially if you read a lot for school or work, speed reading will help you stay focused as you complete your reading related tasks.
If you can read rapidly, you will retain more information and be able to stay highly focused on your tasks at hand.
Improved Thought Process
As you learn to speed read, you are also providing your brain with a very healthy workout.
As a result, you will be able to process all kinds of information much more quickly than you ever have before.
You are essentially performing strength training exercises for your brain.
Likewise, you will begin processing thoughts quickly and responding faster as you can download information much faster.
Overall Wellness
Speed reading is a skill that requires training your brain.
However, once you have learned to read rapidly, it can improve your overall confidence in yourself.
Do you feel like learning to speed read after hearing all of the benefits?
Essentially, speed reading helps provide the brain with much needed strength and exercise.
However, if we learn out to speed read as opposed to scanning what we’re reading, we will retain that information.
What are your thoughts about speed reading? Do you believe in some of the benefits listed above? Let me know in a comment below.
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