Reading is a great activity that most of us are into. it’s always a good way to relax and in most cases get knowledge or simply get entertained.
The question that always comes into mind if you’re a reader at any level is how much time should you read per day.
I wrote this article because this is an introspective question I usually encountered in my early days as a reader.
With that said, How long should you read a day?
For an adult, reading 30 minutes to an hour a day is recommended and can help you cultivate good reading habits. If you’re a teenager or pre-teen, reading 20 to 30 minutes a day is fine and can help you harness your ability to focus and become a better reader as you mature into adulthood.
How long should Adults read a day?
There are really no “should’s” it all depends on what is looking to be accomplished. If you’re serious about reading and want to develop the skill, then you should read for atleast an hour day.
An hour a day of reading for an adult will make a huge difference and can change and fasten how much information they consume.
An hour a day of reading can be daunting if you’re not that much into reading which is why you can trim it down to 30 minutes.
ofcourse your lifestyle will play a huge role in how much time you can actually put aside for reading which is why you can trim down your reading time as much as you can to fit your particular way of life.
The goal is to essentially read everyday in order to cultivate a habit. Once a reading habit is cultivated and nurtured you can slowly start to increase how much time you spend reading per day.
It’s also worth mentioning that you can always break down your reading time into smaller chunks. What I mean is, if you decide to read an hour a day. You don’t have to do it in one sitting.
You can read 6 times in a day, 10 minutes at each read time which is basically a total of 60 minutes of reading time. Ofcourse you can get a lot more creative with how you chunk down your reading time.
Therefore, for the average adult setting aside an hour or simply 30 minutes a day for reading is a good place to start.
What you want to avoid is jumping into reading thinking you should be doing it for multiple hours. Reading for longer is always good but,
Start out reading an hour a day or just 30 minutes a day until you train your subconscious to the point where it can stay alert for hours without losing focus or easily getting distracted.
Also remember that the amount of time you spend reading will depend on the material you’re reading.
Because let’s face it, some books are harder to read than others so you may spend more time decoding and deciphering what is being conveyed to you by the author.
So it’s not really about how much time you spend reading, it’s ultimately about how much you can retain from your reading and how quickly you can move through the text.
How long should teenagers read a day?
For teenagers, reading 10 to 30 minutes per day is fine and can be a great way to nurture a good habit.
The teenage phase is usually the experimentation phase for most teens which usually means having their days filled with other things to do.
Which is why allocating 10 to 30 minutes to some good old reading can be a good way to psychologically build up the habit of reading which can then be transferred easily into adulthood.
Social media also has a key influence on teenagers reading these days because they spend most of their time on these platforms.
This can be a good thing because they can easily download and read books digitally which has become almost the norm now.
Smart phones can allow you to multi task and add a bit of reading to your phone activities.
With that said, my advice, If you’re a teenager looking to get into reading is to start with reading the stuff that you like. until you eventually love reading enough to move to other more interesting material.
Also there are really no rules to reading which means that even if you’re a teen, you can read just as much as an adult can read.
But it’s not always easy to jump into reading for extended periods which is why it’s best to start reading for shorter periods first and then eventually start reading longer hours.
How much reading is too much?
With reading, you can’t really read “too much” and the fact is everyone is different. Some can read for 6 hours a day which could be considered too much for others.
“Too much” is a matter of preference by the reader and their reading threshold.
But its only right to mention that; if your eyes and head start to hurt then it’s not a bad idea to set your book (electronic or physical) down because health is more important than any book and you may need to relax before diving back into your book.
Also, some books are difficult to read which means you have to read them with more attention and twice or thrice the effort you may read an ordinary book. Such complexity may require you to read the book slower than you normally would, as well as take enough time to grasp what the the author is trying to convey.
Additionally, too much reading can also be associated with information overload. That is, whenever you feel you have consumed too much information and need a break to process what you have read.
Otherwise, reading excessively cannot be categorized as too much because it all depends with what you want and the fact is that there are basically no Downside effects to reading too much or taking in too much information.
Is reading 20 or 30 minutes a day enough?
Reading 20 to 30 minutes is enough for most casual reading where the reader is reading for their own interest.
Ofcourse reading for longer periods of time might be better and provide the reader more pleasure or more knowledge…. But there really isn’t any rule when it comes to how much time you can spend reading.
Depending on what you want to get out of reading, 20 to 30 minutes may be enough or insufficient.
Conclusion
Reading 20 minutes to an hour a day is highly recommended and can benefit the reader in various ways.
The more you get used to spending time on a book and consuming information…the longer you can ultimately begin to read.
Basically, the art of reading is habit that you have to cultivate and nurture. I’ve found that most readers struggle to read because they don’t let the process of reading develop within them.
Which leaves them as occasional readers. If you intend to grow as a reader, do it everyday. Doesn’t matter how long you do it, just read something everyday.
That way you can develop the habit and read for longer hours without losing focus.
Related Articles You Should Read
How Long Does It Take To Read A 300 Page Book?
Can Reading Books Make You Smarter?
Is It Bad To Read A Book In One Day?
How Do I Know If I’m A Good Reader?
Additional Helpful Resources
How Many Hours Should I Read a Day? [Here’s the Truth!] – The Book Buff
How Long Should You Read a Day – Nerdish.io
How Much Should I Read A Day? These Studies … – Bustle
12 Great Benefits of Reading 30 Minutes A Day – The Reading Warrior
How long should you spend reading a day? – Acting Colleges
Benefits of Reading 30 Minutes A Day | BetterYou
You Should Read Everyday! But For How Long? – How To Live A Meaningful Life
