Seven Reasons to Think about Writing by Hand

Yohana Desta reports:

"It's time to put pen to paper. Our tech-dependent society has put keyboards at the tips of our fingers at all times, from our smartphones to our laptops. But when was the last time you wrote by hand? Science shows that handwriting can benefit our minds in a number of ways...Writing a calming sentence is a form of graphotherapy, [Dr. Marc] Seifer says. 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.
'This actually calms the person down and retrains the brain,' Seifer says...Writing something in cursive, that beautiful archaic form, can coordinate the left brain and right brain. How deeply you use each part of the brain varies from person to person (though, we all use both parts)...For young children, writing by hand is an imperative tool in improving cognitive skills...Taking pen to paper inspires more creative thought, because it is a slower process than just typing something on a keyboard, Seifer says...Writing by hand is a great tool for baby boomers who want to keep their minds sharp as they get older...Many psychologists believe that writing something by hand has a longer-lasting effect on memory. This works for both adults and kids.

'There have been a number of studies which show that as children develop, those who [handwrite] have better memory retention,' Seifer says...One of the main reasons handwriting benefits your brain in so many ways is the fact that you're using more of it. The linked regions of the brain for reading are activated while writing by hand, but not while typing or texting."