Why Writing by Hand Changes Your Brain
During our co-writing session today, I was reminded of the difference between writing by hand and writing on a laptop.
I journal by hand and move to my laptop when I write for social media. This morning, I filled three pages in my notebook on this very topic. Now I am typing on my laptop to share it with you.
I appreciate when research validates what many of us intuitively experience. Studies continue to explore the cognitive differences between handwriting and typing.
Typing can be faster. It’s efficient and practical, but it doesn’t stimulate the brain in the same way. You’re using a small amount of finger movement and typing with your thumbs on your phone is even less. Then there’s the distraction factor with notifications and the temptation to check social responses.
Conversely, handwriting involves more of your body. The pen moves across the page while your eyes track the words forming. It’s a more integrated experience.
Research supports this difference.
Scientific American has reported that handwriting activates broader neural networks in the brain than typing, including areas tied to memory, language, and sensory processing.
Studies comparing handwritten and typed notes consistently show stronger memory retention with handwriting. Because writing by hand is slower, it encourages summarizing and synthesizing rather than transcribing, which deepens encoding. A 2020 study in Frontiers in Psychology further found that handwriting increases connectivity between brain regions associated with learning and memory.
There is also evidence from developmental neuroscience that forming letters by hand, especially cursively, strengthens neural pathways linked to reading and language in ways that typing does not fully replicate.
For me, both have their place. Pen and paper allow ideas to surface and take form. The laptop helps refine and share them.
What is your preference while writing?
P.S. Will you be practicing cursive writing with me?
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Why Writing by Hand Changes Your Brain
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