Audiobooks sales are booming. They're popular with everyone. But what are the real benefits of audiobooks for adults, toddlers, and children?
Audiobooks are more popular than ever before, with sales increasing year-on-year. If you would rather listen to an audiobook than pick up a novel, don’t feel bad — from improved attention spans to an improved appreciation of pronunciation and vocabulary, there are many benefits of audiobooks for adults and growing minds. Below, we explore our six favorite advantages of the audiobook — and explain why Jooki is the perfect listening device to enjoy your next story.
1. Mental Health Benefits
We all need a little time alone sometimes, to take care of ourselves. We must make an effort to look after our well being, especially if we live hectic or stressful lives. There is evidence to suggest that listening to audiobooks can help to soothe our minds and so help us improve and maintain our mental health.
According to Psychology Today, the reason we find audiobooks calming maybe because it reminds us of comforting memories from when our parents read to us as children.
2. With Audiobooks, We Get an Animated Rendition of the Story
Some of us have trouble getting into a story when reading. For whatever reason, we can’t get the tone right or get into the flow of the tale. There’s a disconnect that stops us from investing in the story, and we ultimately stop reading. It’s the reason some people enjoy the movie adaption of a novel, but not the book itself — before the story came visually to life, it was flat and uninspiring, but the movie added texture and light.
For similar reasons, audiobooks can help listeners engage in a meaningful way with a story. The narrator can enhance the story, using their voice to help the listener get into the rhythm of the book. This can help the listener understand what is going on with the characters, which results in a more interesting experience.
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3. Audiobooks Help to Improve Memory
When listening to an audiobook, we have to exercise our brains a little. We need to remember characters, their names, what they look like, as well as places in the books. We need to remember what happened, how different themes and plots feed into one another. We need to remember a particular series of events and recall important conversations. Without this memory, the story wouldn’t make much sense.
Listening to audiobooks encourages us to retain this information. This is particularly important for growing minds — it can even help with their focus, patience, and concentration.
4. Audiobooks Help with Pronunciation and Vocabulary
When we see words written down, we don’t always have an appreciation for how we should pronounce them. When we listen to audiobooks, however, we can be introduced to new words (which improves our vocabulary) and know exactly how to pronounce them.
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5. We Can Enjoy Audiobooks While Getting on with Our Day
One of the best things about audiobooks is we can enjoy them hands-free. Not only that, but we can multitask. We can listen to audiobooks when cleaning, walking, and driving. Not only does this mean we have well-earned entertainment while doing menial tasks, but it also means we don’t have to wait to hear what happens to our favorite characters.
6. Audiobooks Improve Our Attention Spans
According to a major academic study by King's College London, Oxford, Harvard, and Western Sydney University, our attention spans are being affected by the internet. The study also found smartphones were effectively replacing our ability to recall facts. This might sound scary, but there are measures you can put in place to counteract your waning attention span. Think of it like a muscle — the more you flex it, the larger it’ll grow.
When you listen to an audiobook, you need to pay attention. In fact, you need to continue paying attention throughout the entire audiobook. You can’t allow yourself to get distracted even for a short time, or you’ll get lost, and you’ll have to retrace your steps. By forcing yourself to be strict with yourself and by focusing on the story at hand, your attention span will improve.
The Jooki music player is the perfect music and story player for a screen-free childhood. Enjoy the benefits of audiobooks with Jooki with these modern audiobook classics.