Handwriting helps brain development

I’ve been reading a lot about neuroscience and how the brain works, especially with regards to education and learning. An interesting find in this research was the significance of handwriting in helping brain development. Here’s what I found.
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With the rise of technology and digital devices, the skill of handwriting seems to be a thing of the past. Handwriting is a fundamental skill that most of us learn at an early age. Once an essential tool used to help us communicate our thoughts and ideas effectively is now disappearing fast.

This is sad. Especially because recent research has shown that writing by hand can actually have significant benefits for brain development. They say that writing by hand stimulates different parts of the brain and also plays a significant role in strengthening motor skills. More so than when typing or using a digital device.

It is pretty obvious that when we write by hand, we are using multiple senses at the same time, i.e., tactile and kinesthetic senses. Now, research also supports the idea that handwriting exercises can help improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive function. According to neuroscientists, writing by hand helps activate various regions in the brain that are crucial for brain development, especially in learning and cognitive development.

For example, a recent study found that learners who wrote by hand had better reading skills than those who did not. The study also found that the young learners who wrote by hand showed greater activity in the reading-related brain regions. Another study found that students who took notes by hand in class retained more information than those who took notes on a laptop.

Writing by hand forces us to slow down and process information more deeply, leading to better memory retention. It also has positive effects on mental health. It was found that handwriting can reduce stress levels and improve overall well-being. In one particular study, people who wrote about their emotions by hand had lower levels of stress and anxiety compared to those who typed. Handwriting also showed a positive impact when integrated into therapy and rehabilitation programs for individuals with neurological disorders or injuries.

There seems to be enough evidence to advocate for the use of handwriting in everyday life, at least in the context of learning and development. Handwriting is especially relevant for students who need to retain and understand large amounts of information. Teachers and parents can make a difference here. They can encourage their learners to practice writing by hand by regularly incorporating handwriting exercises such as journaling, taking notes, writing essays etc into lesson plans and study sessions.

Finally, if the aim of educational institutions and contexts is to help learners improve skills and cognition and there is evidence to show that practicing writing by hand can help – shouldn’t this be made a common practice in schools and colleges along side the use of technology?

Here’s some research I found interesting on the impact of handwriting:

  1. James, K. H., & Engelhardt, L. (2012). The effects of handwriting experience on functional brain development in pre-literate children. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 1(1), 32–42. doi: 10.1016/j.tine.2012.08.001
  2. Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. doi: 10.1177/0956797614524581
  3. Lupo, M. K., & Caligiuri, M. P. (2020). Effect of expressive writing on depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and emotional well-being among military service members. Military Medicine, 185(7–8), e1114-e1121. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaa028
  4. Graham, S., & Santangelo, T. (2014). Does handwriting instruction make a difference? New evidence on an old question. Handwriting Today, 7, 1–14.