0 6 Tips to Improve Balance

Feeling unstable and a bit wobbly from time to time could indicate that you have balancing problems, it's not the biggest concern to have - unless it is quite serious. However as we get older and our bodies become more and more fragile, slips and falls become harder for us to take, and not having good balance could cause these future falls (hopefully not).

I'm not going to discuss the exercises you can do to improve balance (well I suppose I mention one,) but tips on how to improve balance overall, here they are:

1. Practice Balance Every Day

If you want to improve at balance then you are going to have to practice balancing, and not just every once in a while but regularly. I would recommend doing balancing exercises every day. It's up to you what time of the day you decide to do them but doing them at the same time each day will help get you into a routine quicker.

One of the most obvious balancing exercises that I'm sure the vast majority of you reading this will know is simply standing on one leg. You can do it with your hands by your sides of stretched out - it's up to you. Hold your position for 1-2 minutes before proceeding to your other leg and again hold your position for another 1-2 minutes. One or two minutes doesn't sound like a lot, and that's because it isn't, but it's surprising how much of a difference 1-2 minutes can make. Of course you are welcome to practice for longer if you feel like it.

There are various different balancing exercises out there for you to do, the standing on one-leg exercise is just an example of one, and how many you decide to do a day is up to you. Yoga has many poses and stances that will help improve your balance if you fancy looking into it.

2. Keep your Eyes Fixed on Something

In the early stages of improving balance try not to let your eyes wander, when you do you can become uncoordinated and lose balance easily. Fixing your eyes on something (stationary) will help you yourself remain stationary as you can see much more clearly if you are losing your balance. Looking at a something still, that is close, will allow you to feel and notice subtle and small movements that you are making whilst trying to remain still, whereas looking at something far away will make noticing your own movements not so obvious.

Once you are better at balancing, looking around and letting your gaze travel around your surroundings will not have as much of an affect on you as it once would have.

3. Try Closing your Eyes

Once you are more familiar with balancing, try doing it with your eyes closed. I say try it once you have become used to balancing because closing your eyes and balancing is harder to do, so I wouldn't recommend it until you are confident with balancing. 

With your eyes being closed you obviously won't be able to use your line of sight to help steady you, you'll now have to rely solely on different senses to keep still, you'll be able to feel your movements very well and will know how steady you are. It might take some time to get good at balancing with your eyes shut but be patient and continue to practice and you'll get there in the end.

It's a surprisingly difficult thing to do. In fact why don't you quickly get up and try it right this instant, it will only take a few moments. Stand on one leg and once you have gained balance, close your eyes - you will notice the difference within a couple of seconds. If you somehow find this just as easy, then you have good balancing skills to say the least. I tried it just before writing this paragraph and found that I became seriously wobbly as soon as I had closed my eyes - I think a bit more practice for me is needed. :)

4. Change your Support Width 

When you are standing up your legs are your support, and the wider your legs are means you have a wider support, which often means that you will have better balance. Narrowing this support is going to have the opposite effect and make balancing harder, that's why a tightrope is harder to balance on than the pavement. Use this knowledge to help challenge yourself. First start by improving your balance on a large surface and as you become better, decrease the surface area, until eventually you are balancing on much less surface area than you were before and your room for error becomes smaller and smaller.

5. Lose Weight if Necessary

An overweight person is unfortunately on average going to find balance tougher than a person that is in shape. Their body is heavier and will be putting more stress on their joints and muscles, which will have a harder time holding them in place. Also being heavier they will have more momentum and correcting movements can be trickier. 
That's not to say that you can't gain good balance if you are overweight because you can, it just will be more difficult.

6. Strengthen your Legs

Having strong legs is essential for good balance. Your legs are what holds the rest of your body upright and what you are using to steady yourself when standing. If you have weak legs then practicing balance will be a little more strenuous on you, and you may find they start to 'shudder' because they're not used to it. If you have stronger legs then you are going to be able to hold yourself up better and for longer. To have strong legs you don't have to have 'ripped' legs but doing exercise will help.

Conclusion

How good at balance you want to become is up to you, whether it is the route of a yoga master you want to follow or just reduce the wobbliness you may sometimes have, I hope these tips, and any more that you come across help you.

Detail: 6 Tips to Improve Balance

0 How to Memorise Numbers

Memorising numbers can be a tricky thing to do, it is said that a person can hold up to an average of 7 digits at any given time. This is fine when trying to remember up to the magic-7 mark, but what about when you need to memorise longer numbers for whatever reason, for example: mobile phone numbers (which are 11 digits), or bank card numbers, or maybe a set of codes/passwords that are for you job or security reasons? What do you do then. 

Well as I just mentioned the average amount of numbers a person can hold up to in his/her mind at a given time is 7, so you may be able to do more or less than that, however, there are ways you can get far beyond this figure - into memorising huge numbers that are hundreds of digits long, some people can even remember numbers up to thousands of digits long. It's all about technique, and the technique that is needed is mnemonics. 
If you are not sure about what mnemonics are then here is a post that you may find useful: Mnemonics.

1.  Major Memory System

This is one of the most popular systems that people use to memorise numbers. Each numeral is associated to a consonant, with w, h, y, x, and vowels being ignored serving as 'fillers' to create actual words. Here is the most common layout:

0	s, z, soft c	z is the first letter of zero. The others have a similar sound.
1	d, t, th	d and t have one downstroke and sound similar (notice the tip of your tongue as you say them).
2	n	n has two downstrokes.
3	m	m has three downstrokes, also m looks like a 3 lying on its side.
4	r	the last letter of four, also 4 and R are almost mirror images of each other.
5	l	L is the Roman numeral for 50.
6	j, sh, soft ch, dg, zh, soft g	a script j has a lower loop like 6. These letters also have a ‘whistle-like’ sound, and 6 looks like a whistle.
7	k, hard c, hard g, q, qu	capital K contains two 7s (on their sides, back to back).
8	v, f	think of v as in a V8 motor. f sounds similar (notice how your teeth touch your lips for both).
9	b, p	p is a mirror-image 9. b sounds similar and resembles a 9 rolled around (also notice how your lip movement is the same when pronouncing these letters.)
-	vowel sounds, w, h, y, x	These sounds can be used anywhere without changing a word’s number value.

The number you are trying to memorise would be placed into the table to turn into words. For example: the number 55. As you can see in the table the letter 'l' is associated with the number 5, and as our number is 55, after looking at the table we get 'll' (55). Now that we have this we have to now turn it into a word using vowels, w, h, y, and x. To me the word yeLL comes to mind, so you can imagine a person yelling to remember the number 55. 

So you're probably saying this is fine for two digits but what about for longer digits. Okay, so our next example is going to be: 43665645. The trick with this is to split the number into smaller more manageable chunks. So we're going to tackle this like so: 43, 66, 56, 45. For 43 we get 'rm' so I'm going to turn that into 'RuM' - this now becomes the first picture of your mind. I'll now go ahead and sort out the words for the rest of the numbers: for 66 we'll have 'JoG', for 56 we'll have 'LeDGe', and for 45 we'll have 'RuLe'. Now we need to put them together into a sequence - imagine a man drinking some 'RuM' whilst on a 'JoG, who falls off of a 'LeDGe' with judges around him telling him that he broke a 'RuLe'. It may seem like a lot of effort to remember that, but once you have gotten used to what number corresponds to what letter, it will become much more reliable and is something that you can use to remember longer numbers. 
The hardest part of this system is getting to grips with the table.

2. Peg Words

If you want to take this even further you can then create a 'peg-word' for each number up to 100. This will take more time to learn and become fluent with than the major memory system table, however this way is more effective and can make it quicker to memorise. There are two ways you can do this, you can either create 'peg-words' for each number using the system in trick #1, or you can assign whatever you want to each number. 
I prefer to personally assign each number an image of my choice, things that are in my life or are memorable to me for whatever reason. This includes people, items, characters, all of which are easy for me to picture in my mind. 

Once you have assigned a 'peg-word' to each number and have become familiar with each one, then next thing to do is to use them in a memory palace. I won't go into what a memory palace is in this article as I've already written about it, so instead I'll refer you to them: Memory Palace and 5 Steps to Create a Memory Palace.

3. Grouping

This is a technique that a lot of people use for phone numbers and other numbers of similar length, even if they don't realise that they're doing it. Grouping is simply breaking the number up into smaller groups so that you have an easier time to remember it. So for example a number like 347596 on its own is harder to remember in a short amount of time than if we were to split the number up to make it (347) (596). It seems like groups of 3 work well for our minds and grouping is what a lot of people naturally do when trying to ingrain a number into their mind. 

This technique though is very limited in that whilst it can enable you to quickly pick up a smaller number like 6 or so digits, it is near enough useless for remembering much larger numbers, unless if you were to be extremely repetitive. No, for larger numbers, mnemonics is much much more effective and even for establishing smaller numbers in your long-term memory. 

4. Repetition

Another way that can work is through that of simply repeating the number over-and-over until you have it logged in your long-term memory. Of course all of these techniques will require you to incorporate repetition as to keep them fresh in your mind, however you are able to remember numbers just through repetition and not having to incorporate mnemonics. Mnemonics are a much more powerful tool  though and will make things so much quicker and easier to remember.

There are things you can do to make just repeating the number over-and-over again a little more powerful. You could try writing it down several times instead of saying it out loud, also say it in your head. Even though I prefer using mnemonics (and is something I use for larger pieces of information) I have to say that I have been able to memorise people's mobile numbers from my contacts (11 digits in length) by setting those numbers as the password on my phone (which allows up to 16 digit number passwords), so every time I use my phone - I have to type in the number, which is another form of repetition. I will say that it has been so much easier memorising people's phone numbers this way than simply saying them over-and-over again.

Conclusion

Everyone is different and our minds work in individual ways, so for me using the peg-word method and incorporating it into a memory palace is the best for me, however for you it might not be the best way because your mind doesn't work like that. You should try all of these methods and ones I haven't mentioned until you find one that is right for you.

Detail: How to Memorise Numbers

0 9 Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Most of you who are reading this post will know what sleep deprivation feels like. To wake-up and still feel tired and then for that feeling to remain with you for most of the day, if not all of it. It's not just this feeling of tiredness that is of consequence of sleep deprivation but also many other things. Here's some of the effects that a lack of sleep can bring.

1. Behaviour

Sleep has a direct effect on behaviour. Often when you have a young child and they're crying or playing-up they're normally just tired and so their behaviour becomes worse. It's not only young children who can suffer from bad behaviour as sleep deprivation can effect people of all ages.

When your body stays awake for extended periods of time, regeneration and maintenance of certain parts of the body, such as the brain, begins to falter. It is this incomplete-regeneration/re-charge of the brain through sleeping that has the impact on behaviour and will worsen a persons behaviour.

2. Concentration

Concentration is another thing that is substituted for tiredness.When you can feel your tiredness hanging over you throughout the day you know that you wont be able to concentrate properly because all you want to do is go to sleep. Your body is having to use more energy than usual (when you're not sleep deprived) to keep you going and so other functions like concentration for instance, will see a decline. 

Here's another post of mine: 6 Benefits of Concentration.

3. Head Aches

If you don't like headaches then don't skip sleep as it has been shown that having a lack of sleep can actually bring them on. If you're someone that suffers from chronic headaches/migraines then make sure that you get enough sleep.

4. Weakened Immune System 

Hate colds, coughs, the flu, and other infections and illnesses? I thought so. Well not getting the sleep that your body needs will actually have a negative effect on the immune system, and immune functions that help to fight against illness and infection will start to diminish making you a lot more susceptible to them.  

5. Increased Blood Pressure

Another negativity of sleep deprivation is an increased blood pressure which in itself can bring on many unwanted illnesses and problems.

If you want to read more on high blood pressure then here's the link: Reduce High Blood Pressure.

6. Depression

Another thing about sleep deprivation is that it can lead to depression. This is as regular tiredness will bring your mood down and behaviour (as discussed in point #1), and then when you've reached this level, not getting enough sleep can lower your state even further until it reaches the lower levels of depression, and this is another thing that can bring about some more individual problems. You'd be surprised how much better you can feel when you're getting enough sleep.

7. Memory Loss

This may sound like a bit on the extreme side but tiredness really can have an effect upon memory. Sleep is very necessary for the cognitive functions of the brain and making sure that they are healthy, and it is something that helps us with remembering and recalling information. However, when we don't get enough sleep then the cognitive functions of the brain don't function as-well and will cause our ability to remember and learn new things a lot harder than it should be. 

8. Weight Gain

Many sleep deprived nights may also be contributing to your waistline. Your bodies natural calorie burner comes in the form of your metabolism and it is this that burns the vast majority of your calories. Your body needs sleep so that it can process hormones that aid in the maintenance of your metabolic rate and your appetite. When you don't get enough sleep your body will find it more and more difficult to use these hormones to mange metabolism and appetite which will only add to the waist. 

If you're are struggling with weight and are wanting to lose some pounds, then here's a previous post of mine: How to Lose Weight.

9. Type-2 Diabetes

As discussed in point #7, when your body doesn't get the sleep that it needs it will find it harder to process the hormones needed to regulate bodily functions such as metabolic rate. Well another bodily function that will see a cutback in regulation is sugar processing. And it's this, your body not being able to properly process sugar, that can lead to type-2 diabetes.

Conclusion

It's also interesting to note that if we live by a sleep-deprived life, even though we may feel okay because our bodies have gotten used to sleep deprivation, our bodies will require more and more sleep. So in a sense we're getting into debt with our bodies every time we don't get enough sleep. I do hope that this post has highlighted some key points to keep in mind when it comes to sleep.

Detail: 9 Effects of Sleep Deprivation

0 How to Get a Good Nights Sleep

It's horrible when you can't get a good nights sleep and however much you try, it just seems to become harder and harder to slip into that state of unconsciousness. Then when the next day comes around and it's time to get up you can definitely feel the lack of sleep. The good thing to note is that you're not alone when it comes to sleep deprivation, and the good thing is that normally it has something to do with your daily routine. 

You'll be surprised how much daily and evening habits can have an affect on sleep, and can either help you with sleeping or hinder you from sleeping. 

After saying this I'm hoping these tips provided will help you to get a better nights sleep.

1. Consistency

The body naturally likes consistency as its internal body clock relies on it. Making sure that you get in tune with your bodies natural sleep and wake-up times is one of the first essential things for you to do. If you go to bed and wake-up at varying times over the week then that means that your body is out of sync with its internal body clock, but there is a way to reset it.

To get your internal body clock back into sync with your body all you need to do is keep to a sleeping schedule - go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, simple. Set an alarm clock as-well to make sure that you get up at the right time, I've written a previous post about the amount of sleep people should get: How Much Sleep do we Need?

It may take your body a couple of weeks or more to adjust to the new sleeping schedule and once it has will make going to sleep easier.

2. Relax

I've already written a post about this so I wont go into too much detail here. Basically, relaxing before bed will cause your body to become more susceptible to sleep and is great for unwinding from what has felt like a long day. One example of what you could do to relax before bed would be to read.

If you are interested in reading about this in more detail I'll refer you to the main article: How to Relax Before Bed.  

3. Amount of Light-Exposure

Our bodies need light-exposure to properly function, when it gets dark a hormone called melatonin that is regulated by your body will start to kick-in and make you tired. This is as the production of this hormone is based upon light-exposure. The more light-exposure your body has - the less melatonin is produced, and vice-versa the darker it gets the more melatonin is produced.

Now you may be saying, "okay, well that's fine as its light when it's day and dark when it's night, so why are you telling me this". That's a good question. Well there are things that can mess with the production of melatonin during the day and night, and can make it difficult for you to get to sleep.

Things like having a day job where you aren't exposed to as much daylight (an office for example) or wearing sunglasses all the time can cause a increase in the amount of melatonin that is produced making you feel sleepy during the day. Similarly watching t.v, being at a computer or around some other source of artificial light at night can cause a deduction in melatonin levels making you more awake and making it harder for you to relax and fall to sleep.

4. Watch what You Eat and Drink

Food is another thing that will affect the body during sleep and depending when and what you eat can also depend how good a nights sleep you could get. 

Fatty foods and other 'heavy' foods will take a lot of energy for your stomach to digest and so should try to be avoided within a couple of hours leading up to bed. Also try to eat your meals earlier in the evening as this will give your stomach more time to digest the food. I know for some people this isn't possible but if it is then give it a try. 

Avoid alcohol  before bed and avoid caffeine altogether (for example in coffee) if possible. Alcohol can send a person to sleep quicker, which you may be thinking that's a good thing, however it reduces the quality of sleep and your body will find it harder to go through all of the stages of sleep.  

Caffeine whilst okay in smaller doses can actually provide a restless nights sleep even after as much as 10 hours after consumption.  

Another thing, drinking too much water before you go to bed can also mean a midnight walk to the bathroom, so if you're going to drink lots of water I would suggest 1-2 hours before you go to bed. 

5. Exercise More

Daily exercise is another thing that you can do during the day to help yourself get a better nights sleep. Something like only 30 minutes a day can make a big difference. As I've said in other posts, daily exercise doesn't have to be in one go and can be split into smaller chunks (10 minutes for a section lets say) spread across the course of the day. 

If you're wanting to get into exercise more, then here's a previous post of mine: How to Create an Exercise Plan.

6. Avoid Smoking

As-well as being bad for your health in numerous ways, it can also be detrimental to sleep quality and can have you awake for much of the night in some cases. This is as nicotine is a stimulant which will disrupt sleep. As-well as this, depending on how much you smoke a day, you may find yourself getting up during the night to smoke as the withdrawal is too strong. 

Here's another previous post of mine: How to Stop Smoking.

7. Avoid Stress

Another thing that's detrimental to sleeping and health in general is stress and anxiety. Being stressed and anxious can make it very difficult for you to sleep, I know from where I've been stressed in the past and as a result have experienced sleepless nights and then long drawn-out mornings. Try to reduce stress levels as best you can. When first starting this blog I wrote an article about stress which I will direct you to if you want to read about it in more detail: The common causes of stress and how to deal with it. 

Conclusion

Whether you only need to change one aspect of your life or many aspects, I hope that doing so will help you to get a better nights sleep. Remember, if you're trying to get back into a regular sleep pattern then you may not see results for a couple of weeks or so as your body is adjusting to the change you've made.Good luck.

Detail: How to Get a Good Nights Sleep

0 How to get Yourself to Read More

When you sit down to read something are you someone who can stay there for a good couple of hours engrossed? Or are you someone who has trouble staying focused for just a couple of minutes? Well, if you're the latter, hopefully this post will be of some help to you.

1. Pinpoint the reason for wanting to read

Why do you want to read? This is the first question that you should ask yourself. Maybe it's because you want to improve your reading ability or maybe it's because it's something that you think you would (or know that you) enjoy. 

If you don't know why you want to read then what's the point of reading at all?

If you want to see some of the benefits that reading brings then click on the link: 'The Benefits of Reading'.

2. Start with material that interests you

If you're not used to reading and are trying to get into the habit of reading, then the last thing that you would want to do would be to read something that doesn't interest you. Doing this will most likely put you off reading all the more and potentially stop you all together.

So the best thing to do would be to read things that do capture your interest or spark your curiosity - it's these that will allow you to maintain reading as you will want to read, and when you want to read it no longer becomes something that is forced. 

Asking other people's opinions on what they would recommend is a good thing to do because usually a person will recommend a book that has had enough of an impact to come to the surface in answer to your question, meaning that it's a good possibility that it will be a captivating read - as long as you ask someone who has similar interests to you (reading-wise).

3. Start with a short/moderate length book

When wanting to try and get yourself to read more, it's not necessary for you to start reading 1000 page books in hope that you're going to be able to keep it up because more than likely you wont. This tip goes well with point #2 in that not only should you pick a short to moderate length book to begin with, but you should also try to make sure that you enjoy it. It will make reading a lot easier for you if you enjoy it and if it's short it won't feel like you're having to slog through it. 

Sure you can start with huge pieces of reading material but it's most likely going to be another thing that could put you off. In time once you've got used to reading short/moderate length books you can then start to increase length.

4. Identify when you're most likely to read

There are some points during the day where we naturally are able to concentrate on a book more than usual, whether that be early morning or late at night. It's important to recognise these "peak" reading times when momentum and focus comes easier. Getting yourself to read at these times will be brilliant for getting you into (or reintroducing you to) reading.

I'll give you an example: for me my most optimal time to read would be at night before I go to bed. I can just concentrate so much more on a book at this time rather than, lets say, the middle of the day. So if I am to read it will normally always be at this time - unless if I really get into a book and read it all the time. :)

5. Set aside time each day

Sometimes we have so many things to fit into the day it can seem hard getting round to doing everything. So making sure that you schedule in some time for reading will definitely help as you will know how long reading will last for and that will enable you to be able to find some time to allow it to occur. 

For example: you may only be able to fit in 10 minutes, so you have a known set amount of time, and this will enable to not only plan around that 10 minutes or be able to squeeze that 10 minutes somewhere, but will also get you into the habit of reading and soon it will become part of your daily routine. Goes well with point #4.

6. Try a variety of genres

You may know what sort of things you like to read and what you don't - brilliant. 
Some of you who read this won't know what they like when it comes to reading. So I would suggest going to a local library (somewhere where you don't have to pay) and collecting a wide variety of books from different genres, or borrowing some off of other people you know. 

Start with one of the books and if you can't get into it (say something like 2-6 chapters in depending upon how long they are ) and are finding it a struggle then I would suggest moving onto the next book. 

Eventually you are bound to come across a genre you like; whether that's sci/fi, biographies, cookery, history, fantasy, fiction, non-fiction, religious, science, music, etc. 

Even if you do know what you like and don't, it can still be good to try other genres you maybe haven't had chance to try before, because who knows, you may find another genre that appeals to you. 

Conclusion

Once you've got into the habit of reading you can then move on to more complex material and things that you usually wouldn't go for. It's getting into the habit of reading that's the hard part, once you get there it's not so bad. I've written a previous post called 'How to Enforce a New Habit' if you're interested.

Detail: How to get Yourself to Read More

0 How to Improve your Reading Ability

We read every day in this modern era, maybe not in the form of a book but in other ways. Emphasis is being placed more and more on reading. You find it everywhere: books, instructions, advertisements, signs, labels, stickers, technology etc. Basically reading is something that is part of this world.

Believe it or not, if you are wanting to improve your reading skills, it's totally within your grasp. Just follow these simple tips and you'll see an improvement over time and with consistency. 

1. Read more

There are people out there, I'm sure you know one or two of them, who are very gifted readers and have a very impressive reading ability. Normally these people will have their head in a book giving the impression that they are sort of non-stop readers.

Well, there's no coincidence that these seemingly gifted readers are always reading because it's all the reading that they do that gives them a brilliant reading ability. Now I'm not saying that all gifted readers read a lot - some are just naturally gifted (like everyone is at something), but on the whole the majority of readers with great reading ability is as a result of reading a lot.

So make it a goal to start reading more, you don't have to start swallowing books each day but reading two or more pages of something wouldn't hurt. Pick a book and say to yourself "I'm going to read at least 'x' amount of pages each day until this book is finished. Make sure that you do do this every day - exposure is the best thing you can do. After that book is finished, or other reading material, move onto the next. 
A great motivational technique that you may find useful is 'don't break the chain'.

Also when you're out and about, take time to read signs, markings, advertisements and the like. This is so that you can have as much exposure as possible to reading. 

2. Learn vocabulary

This is another simple yet affective tip to do - learn the meaning of more words. When reading you're bound to at some time or another come across a word that you aren't too familiar with. So by looking it up will cause you to have a greater understanding of what you are reading and at the same time will get you used to pronunciation (that's if you make sure that you pronounce it when looking it up,) helping with when you come across similar constructed words in the future.

3. Read challenging material

Making sure that you keep challenging yourself with new, innovative, and hard material is brilliant for improving your reading. If you are always reading material that you feel comfortable with - that's both good and bad. It's good because you know what your reading ability is able to handle, it's bad because you're not pushing yourself to think about what you're reading - not in the same sense as when you read challenging material. For example: a piece of challenging material may take the form of a non-fictional quantum-mechanics book. Whilst you may not know about quantum-mechanics, you are bound to come across unfamiliar words, layout, and/or style. It's things like this that will get you used to reading harder texts and is something that you should consider if wanting to see a good improvement of your reading ability.

4. Read out loud and in your head

Another thing you can do that will make you think more about what you are reading is to read both in your head and out loud. Do about half a page out-loud and then switch to in-head. This will get you used to switching between out-loud and in-head and will cause you to think slightly differently between these two actions about the pronunciation of words. It's also helpful if you will have to read out loud to groups of people, whether that's as a student in class or a person giving a public speech. 

5. Read where you can concentrate

It's no good reading something that you aren't able to focus upon because of outside influences, for example; a distracting and noisy environment. It's no good reading a piece of material if you aren't going to be able to properly focus on it, and if you're not going to properly focus on it then you are not going to get the benefits of reading or see an improvement in your reading ability.

Some people are able to remain focused in even the most distracting locations - something that comes with practice, and so for them at least, it would be fine to read in noisy and distracting places because they can still keep a good level of concentration. For the majority of us this isn't the case and so reading somewhere where you are less compelled to look away from what you are reading would be a better choice. 

Conclusion

Improving your reading skills will take time for your mind to adapt, as the skill of reading is a difficult one, but when you start to read regularly and apply these tips, you're bound to see an improvement as time goes by. It's just getting yourself to take the time to have a go - that's the most difficult part. Good luck.

Detail: How to Improve your Reading Ability