Why writing by hand is great for your brain

We make grocery lists on notepad or email calendar reminders to ourselves, while children tend to make notes online. Digital devices have replaced journals and the once ubiquitous pen and paper. While this may seem convenient, it doesn’t spell good news for the brain!

According to research, writing by hand stimulates complex brain connections essential in recording new information and making memories. Students who write down their notes tend to score better marks than those who type it out. Writing down to-do lists also helps one recall them more easily later.

Writing by hand helps children learn more and remember better, particularly when compared to typing on the keyboard. Professor Audrey van der Meer and her colleagues at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who have studied this at least twice (in 2017 and 2020), discovered that the brain in young adults and children is more active when writing by hand. For both studies, she used an EEG to record brain wave activity, with participants wearing a hood attached to over 250 electrodes. 

For one study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers asked university students to write individual words either using a digital pen on a touchscreen or using a single finger to type all while measuring electrical activity in their brains using a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG). “When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions.”

Van der Meer remarked, “The use of pen and paper gives the brain more ‘hooks’ to hang your memories on. Writing by hand creates much more activity in the sensorimotor parts of the brain. A lot of senses are activated by pressing the pen on paper, seeing the letters you write and hearing the sound you make while writing. These sense experiences create contact between different parts of the brain and open the brain up for learning. We both learn better and remember better.”

Here are some benefits of writing by hand:

It teaches kids to communicate

Putting pen (or pencil) to paper allows one the time to think through what they are writing. It builds the ability to choose the right words and discard what is not pertinent. This goes a long way in teaching children to communicate better and articulate their thoughts.

It’s good for the brain

Putting down alphabets is akin to sketching an intricate design, making sure we get it right. This activates the right hemisphere of our brain, which is deemed more visual and creative. The finger movements while writing also reportedly activate regions of the brain associated with processing and remembering information.

It put the whole body to work

Holding the pen in a grip, maintaining the right posture is beneficial for the whole body. It’s similar to children developing motor skills as they learn to use scissors to cut or paste objects together. Meanwhile, sitting on a computer or any device for long hours comes with its own problems, carpal tunnel syndrome being one of them.

Writing gets the job done

If you’re the kind of person who believes in setting goals and timelines, writing it down will perhaps spur your brain to take it more seriously. According to author, psychologist and online educator Dr Jordan Peterson, “It appears possible that writing, which is a formalised form of thinking, helps people derive information from their experiences that help them guide their perceptions, actions, thoughts, and emotions in the present.” 

Writing is therapeutic

Journalling is coming into the mainstream these days and for good reason. Writing down one’s feelings helps make sense of them and can prove calming. One can also write down positive affirmations daily to stay inspired and on track with goals.

For students, it helps retain what they have learnt in class besides also improving spelling and keeping them motivated. Ultimately, if you want to make sure you don’t forget something, it’s a good idea to write it down!