Why Will Cognitive Writing Always be Trendy?

Our era is called a digital one, and it means that more people switch from pen and paper to keyboards. Do we still need cognitive writing, or can we live without it?

How Handwriting Improves your Cognitive Skills

In some schools, the ability to write by hand is not considered to be a high priority anymore. For example, in several American schools, children write by hand during the first years of schooling, but later use computers only. The typing is replacing notebooks and pens. One shouldn’t be an analyst to notice this tendency. Is it a tribute to technical progress and an attempt to keep up with the times, or a huge mistake that deprives the child of the necessary development opportunities? It is fair to state that typing is a question of convenience. Generally, a typed paper is easy to read and share via the Internet.

Writing involves more areas of the brain than typing on a computer. The areas of the brain responsible for writing are only fully activated when handwriting, not when typing or touching the touchpad. The key difference is the type of movement we repeat as we write and type.
The science of graphology studies the correlation between a person and his handwriting. An expert graphologist can look at several lines and say so much about a person – it means that our handwriting is unique, like our body and fingerprints.

Handwriting Develops Vocabulary and Creativity

Lots of studies have shown that writing is a universal instrument – it can help develop so many skills! Just consider the following information.

The development of fine motor skills of a hand-writer is interconnected with the development of several areas of the brain at once. At the same time, the hemispheres are in asymmetry, and in the process of learning new skills, we align this asymmetry. However, using only the dominant hand for precise manipulation shifts the balance. Therefore, ambidexterity, the ability to control both hands equally, is very beneficial for the brain. To develop it, it is useful for a right-handed person to write with his left hand, and vice versa. You can click here to get help in writing college papers.

Unlike monotonous pressing on the keyboard, handwriting activates our attention and memory. When we write each letter and estimate the distance to the end of the line, our concentration increases significantly. At the same time, spatial thinking is activated because we think over our movements several steps ahead.

Psychologists at the Washington Institute conducted a study in 2009. Two groups of children wrote essays – one by hand, the other on a computer. The results showed that handwritten texts were much more expressive. In writing, we use more complex grammatical structures, choose words more carefully, and approach the issue more creatively. The work on the keyboard occurs automatically, which dulls creative thinking and does not develop cognitive skills like writing with hand. Handwriting is an element of self-expression; creating letters and words with our own unique touch, we launch creative processes.

No Stress – Just Write Something and Clear your Mind

Expressing emotions through writing leads to positive health changes. Positive physical changes help eliminate problems with the blood pressure, decrease the cases of abrupt mood changes, and even problems with sleep. Analysis, conducted by psychologists at the University of California Los Angeles, showed that the expression of feelings in words reduces the activity of the amygdala. As a result, it can reduce the level of sadness, anger, and pain.

Writing with a hand doesn’t just improve your calligraphy. It is a smart way to express your feelings and boost your creativity. Don’t know what to write? Take your favorite book and rewrite it by hand. You may feel that your thumb or index finger starts to feel numb – it is OK, because the older people are, the less they write. Having practiced a couple of weeks, you’ll see that writing doesn’t cause any trouble to you, and it is such a pleasure to make notes about everything around you.