Technology has become so prevalent in our lives that it is almost impossible to get anything done without the help of a computer.
These days, we use it to get all our work done at our jobs, as well as take notes and research in school.
This has caused many different shifts in our day to day life, and has made writing by hand a largely unnecessary act to partake in, seeing as you can just type everything out!
But, according to plenty of different studies, there are brain-friendly benefits of writing out letters, notes, essays, or journal entrees by hand that you can't get from typing.
Writing by hand really connects you with the words and allows your brain to focus on them, understand them, and learn from them.
There are plenty of reason to get back to writing by hand — check down below to learn all the ways it helps your brain!
Handwriting Benefit #1: Increases Learning Comprehension
Taking notes on a laptop may be a lot faster — but research proves that those who take notes by hand actually remember more of the information than those who don't.
One study found that students who took notes by hand had a greater understanding of a lesson than those who took notes on a computer — even though they were able to type out more information.
Handwriting Benefit #2: Fully Engages Your Brain
Writing requires that you use more of your motor skills, and a collection of links around your brain called the “reading circuit."
This activates more parts of our brain than typing ever could.
Handwriting Benefit #3: Calms The Body And Nerves
Writing can actually calm your brain down, which makes it a perfect winding-down activity at night.
According to graphologist and handwriting expert Dr. Marc Seifer, “Jotting down a sentence like, 'I will be more peaceful' at least 20 times per day can actually have an impact, especially on those with attention deficit disorder.”
It also helps keep you more focused, which will naturally un-frazzle your brain from distractions.
Handwriting Benefit #4: Slows Down Mental Aging
Because of writing's aforementioned abilities to help you remember information, it is a great tool for helping people retain their memory as they age.
Practicing brain-flexing tasks like writing by hand can help keep our minds sharp.
A 2012 study also found that duplicating shapes played an important memory role for children with developing minds — so all ages benefit from it!
Handwriting Benefit #5: Unleashes Creativity
Since writing puts to work more parts of your mind than typing, it encourages more creativity.
There are also subtle aspects of writing by hand that are more artistic than typing because each person's handwriting is completely their own.
This gives us our own writing identity, similar to an artist who has their own unique medium!
Handwriting Benefit #6: Eases Depression And Anxiety
When you're feeling sad or stressed, sometimes materializing your thoughts by writing them out can be an amazing therapy.
Writing by hand, particularly in cursive, is rhythmic, so it helps your erratic thoughts get in a calming flow.
And since you connect to words more when you write them out, you can also process a problem more easily when you put it to paper.
Handwriting Benefit #7: Enhances Focus
This one is a no brainer — typing on a computer means that you are inches away from the endlessly entertaining Internet.
That it is much easier to get distracted, instead of getting any typing done.
If you need to tame your short attention span, writing by hand will help keep you focused.
Handwriting Benefit #8: Stimulates The Brain
We use different sides of our brain, whether we are being calculative or artistic.
But writing by hand, especially in cursive, actually taps into both sides of our brain, because of its loopy, artistic nature.
How deeply we tap into each side of our brands is different for each individual, but stimulating either side with writing is extremely beneficial for your artistic/problem-solving abilities.
Handwriting Benefit #9: Combats Dyslexia
According to a former teacher and language specialist, cursive can help combat dyslexia by improving brain and memory functions.
Who knew that writing by hand can help you in so many ways? It definitely makes me want to grab a pencil and paper to start feeling the brain benefits.
Do you think we should bring back writing by hand? Or do you prefer typing?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and please SHARE!
