15 Aug Is Reading The Ultimate Brain Hack?

Scientists say that reading is the ultimate brain hack … but is it?

Written by Bryan Szabo

3 min read

It’s no secret that those who read regularly enjoy a host of mental benefits. Spending time between the covers has been shown to lower stress levels, improve concentration and memory—and even to keep deteriorative mental illnesses like Alzheimer’s and dementia at bay.

Food for Thought

On the surface, it seems as though we read more today than ever before. As we pointed out in a recent article, our world is growing increasingly textual—texting and emails have made the telephone all but obsolete. Written communications make up the bulk of our correspondence, and our social media habits mean we read (or at least skim) mountains of content each week. This reading and writing is necessary, but our engagement with it is largely superficial.

When researchers talk about reading as a brain hack, this is not the kind of reading they have in mind, though. If we want to hone our metal faculties, we need a deeper and more sustained engagement with longer-form writing (books, or at least long magazine articles).

The Medium Matters

When it comes to reading and boosting your grey matter, the medium you choose makes a big difference. Norwegian researchers recently found that reading the old-fashioned way (i.e. on paper, not screens) substantially increases the reader’s ability to remember and make sense of what they’re reading. If we want to sharpen our memory and clarify our thinking, we need to start making more time for off-screen reading.

But … reading isn’t the ultimate brain hack. It might clarify our thinking, strengthen our memories, and even improve our mental health, but nothing sharpens our minds like writing a book.

The Ultimate Brain Hack: Writing a Book

I see this happen every day. Our mission as editors is to guide authors through the book-writing process, and time and again I’ve watched this process change them. They start with an idea and, initially, they struggle as they attempt to turn this idea into a book-length manuscript. As they begin to stretch their legs as writers, they often run headlong into mental roadblocks. It’s our job as editors to keep our authors moving forward, either through or over (never around) these roadblocks. This means guiding them towards difficult-but-rewarding mental work.

It’s easy enough to skip to the end of difficult passages when reading, but that’s simply not an option for authors. Writing a book forces authors to think more clearly about the problem they’ve identified – as well as their solution. And this brings a host of benefits:

• They can identify weak points both in existing solutions and their own
• They emerge from the process as better problem-solvers
• Time spent walking in their readers’ shoes has made them more empathic
• They become more attuned to nuance and contradiction (both in their own thinking and in others’)

In short, by writing they become smarter.

Writing Beefs up Your Mental Muscle

Reading stretches our minds, by bringing us into new worlds and exposing us to new perspectives. It limbers us up and prepares the mind for whatever the day brings. Reading is just the warm-up, though. Writing a book is like running a mental marathon. You’ll be using mental muscles you never even knew you had. You might, at times, feel like quitting, but you’ll find deep and untapped reserves of mental toughness—and having found these once, you’ll know how and where to find them again.

Best of all, you’ll no longer be a passive consumer of content; you’ll be an active producer of it. You’re not a passenger any more; now you’re in the driver’s seat. Your ideas and your reputation will have viral potential. You’ll enjoy the brand-boost that comes with having “author of” in your byline, and you’ll be one step closer to enjoying a widespread reputation as a thought leader in your field.

This reputation won’t be yours by default. It will be deserved. You’ve strengthened your mind by using the ultimate brain hack. You’ve done much more than limber up your mental muscles.

You’ve run that mental marathon, and you’re stronger for it.

If you want to become physically fit you hire a personal trainer – the same is true for budding authors who want to strengthen their mental muscle. If you’re considering writing a book, simply contact us. We’ll coach you through the process, so you’ll cross the finish line thinking with new sharpness and clarity – and with a manuscript you can be proud of.