The mind relaxes in many ways and the most common way in today’s times is to kick back and watch television, browse the internet, smartphone or any other of the many technological devices available to use. The stats and averages point to insane amounts of TV viewing time for the average person, it’s something like 4 – 6 hours per day, so that is pretty much the lifestyle of someone who gets home from work sits on the couch and watches TV till they go to sleep.
I am not surprised that it would be the average for people to do that, but it’s not something that I can see being healthy or how I want to look back and say I lived my life.
Now truth be told I think it probably could be beneficial if the 4 – 6 hours you spent daily watching the TV was on individual shows, like documentary’s, excellent movies, anything with insightful and well-researched journalism or educational. But instead it is far more likely people are watching fake drama filled reality tv productions
Now do I think watching TV like that does numb the brain and prevents critical thinking, and that is fine to do every now and again, it is rather the habit of doing it for a considerable amount of time every day that I disagree with and feel is harmful.When you are watching TV, you are in a spectator mode, and your brain is not being challenged it is just absorbing what is being fed to it.
Rather when reading a book, your mind is always engaged in the process. It is building up the visual imagery for the words you are reading; you are deciphering the meaning, relating the text to your life. All of this will help take your mind off whatever other things are going on in your life at the moment and give it a break so that it can focus on the book. But not only are you relaxing you are also invigorating parts of your mind that might often go unused, but these also are the critical thinking parts and of course the imagination required to build the images in your mind.
Also the actual book you are reading can make significant benefits in your life. Reading is still one of the most efficient ways to learn, and if you spend an hour doing it every day on good informative books, then you are helping sharpen your mind and become a well-rounded person. Although I don’t think every book you read should be Non-Fiction as it can get a bit tedious and cumbersome while plenty of entertaining Fiction books out there that will still challenge your mind and have you learning, especially science fiction!
I feel it is crucial to make reading a daily habit, it is a habit that will pay off immensely and in the long run with the extra knowledge you have accumulated and the short-term rewards of rest, relaxation and entertainment are also well worth.
Warmest Regards,
Sonny Brown
