You might recall a time in your life when it was trendy to have a “pen pal.” Writing letters to pen pals was sort of an art form. It was common for letter-writers to make their own stationery or to use different colors of ink and styles of writing.
What you may not have realized at the time is that the act of writing with pen on paper benefits the health and function of your brain. Nowadays, most writers use typing rather than longhand to process their thoughts. It might be a more convenient and faster process, but is it as beneficial to the overall health and function of the brain?
Writing and typing spark different brain activities
There have been a number of studies to determine how the actual processes of writing in longhand and typing on a keyboard affect the brain. Such studies consistently show that each of these processes create activity in the brain, albeit in separate regions. There is ample evidence that writing by hand on paper creates increased activity in the specific area of the brain that controls receiving, storing and recalling information.
Students who take notes by hand often have better short-term and long-term memory recall than those who use electronic devices to store and highlight information.
The writing process seems to boost creativity more than typing
When you type words, nothing has to happen in your brain to “create” or “form” the letters in the words you’re putting down. The type is already set. All you have to do is hit the proper keys to make the words appear on the screen or paper—if there’s anyone out there who still uses a typewriter.
When you’re writing by hand, however, a lot more has to happen in your brain to get the words out. You have a vast number of options as to the exact way you want the letters to look. From size and style (I.e., cursive versus print, for instance) to spacing and more, what feels like a no-brainer process to you (because you know how to do it), in reality, requires a tremendous amount of brain activity.
When you write by hand, you are creating something (from a cognitive perspective) whereas typing is merely a mechanical process. When you’re using the “creative” part of your brain, you’re also prompting activity for visual processing as well as language and attention span.
Using a stylus is an option for children who are learning their letters
Especially during the letter-learning phases of childhood, the process of writing (as opposed to typing) has a significant impact on the brain. Using a stylus to “write” words on a screen is more similar to longhand than typing. When using a stylus, the person who is writing has control over letter shape, size, style, etc., which is more like the traditional writing process than striking tabs on a keyboard.
Authors (especially those who write fiction) use creative thinking skills
It makes sense to write in longhand, at least some of the time, if you’re an author. Whether you scribble notes on paper, develop your outline that way or write your whole first draft by hand, it’s a good idea since it increases activity in the region of the brain that controls creativity.
Most authors suffer from writer’s block from time to time. If this happens to you, perhaps switching to pen and paper over typing will help get your creative juices flowing again.