{"id":2940,"date":"2015-05-06T16:04:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T16:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/5-reasons-writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain-and-for-well-being\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T16:02:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T16:02:13","slug":"writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain and for Well-Being"},"content":{"rendered":"<style><!-- .outline-box { border: 1px solid #e2e2e2; padding: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; clear: both; } #content-left .inner .outline-box ol { list-style-type: none; } #content-left .inner .outline-box ol li { counter-increment: step-counter; position: relative; margin: 10px 0 40px 40px; } #content-left .inner .outline-box ol li::before { position: absolute; top: 0px; left: -40px; content: counter(step-counter); color: #0559a3; font-size: 36px; font-weight: bold; } #content-left .inner .outline-box ol li:last-child { margin-bottom: 0;} --><\/style>\n<h3>Kids today are born tech-savvy\u2014they\u2019ll never have to be taught to use a keyboard or how to operate a tablet.<\/h3>\n<p>Which is great news, because education increasingly incorporates technology into the classroom.\u00a0Technology has become essential to how we access information and how we organize our lives.\u00a0<span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">But just because something is new and useful, doesn\u2019t mean that the old way is no longer relevant. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">This is especially true when it comes to writing.\u00a0Even in the age of technology, there are still plenty of times when putting pen to paper is needed\u2014such as when writing an essay portion of an exam.\u00a0<\/span>However, as it turns out, writing isn\u2019t just required for school: writing is an activity that has been shown to have numerous benefits to the brain <i>and<\/i> the body.<\/p>\n<p>Whether journaling thoughts, chronicling the day, attempting poetry or starting a novel, old-fashioned pen and paper has an immense impact on emotional well being, helping students organize their thoughts and even improve their moods.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being viewed as an old-fashion activity, writing by hand is still considered a valuable skill that has many cognitive benefits both in and out of the classroom.<\/p>\n<div class=\"outline-box\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Some Benefits Of Writing By Hand:<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h5><b>Stress relief<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>The act of writing itself can reduce stress, which helps improve focus and attention in the classroom.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h5><b>Creativity and Learning<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>Making writing a regular habit has been shown to increase <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sparringmind.com\/benefits-of-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\">creativity and deepen thinking<\/a>, keeping the brain sharp.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h5><b>Memory<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>Writing by hand is also shown to increase memory and retention. The act of putting pen to paper activates areas of the brain that <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/2014\/05\/27\/studying-writing-typing-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">helps student increase their comprehension<\/a>. It also involves more senses and motor neurons than when typing on a keyboard.<a title=\"Studying? Writing &gt; Typing\" href=\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/2014\/05\/27\/studying-writing-typing-2\/\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<h5><b>Feelings<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>Writing about feelings can improve mood and give a sense of well-being\u2014putting pen to page helps flesh thoughts out in an orderly manner, leading to burdens feeling lighter.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h5><b>Gratitude<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>Some studies show that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/11\/12\/writing-health-benefits-journal_n_4242456.html\" target=\"_blank\">writing about being grateful<\/a>, especially before bed, can help improve sleep, which leads to better classroom performance as well as a sense of well being.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">So put the keyboard away and grab a pen and paper! It doesn\u2019t matter what students write so long as they take advantage of the benefits of this old-fashioned (but still relevant!) school and life skill.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kids today are born tech-savvy\u2014they\u2019ll never have to be taught to use a keyboard or how to operate a tablet. Which is great news, because education increasingly incorporates technology into the classroom.\u00a0Technology has become essential to how we access information and how we organize our lives.\u00a0But just because something is new and useful, doesn\u2019t mean [&hellip;] [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Reasons Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain and for Well-Being - Oxford Learning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain and for Well-Being - Oxford Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kids today are born tech-savvy\u2014they\u2019ll never have to be taught to use a keyboard or how to operate a tablet. Which is great news, because education increasingly incorporates technology into the classroom.\u00a0Technology has become essential to how we access information and how we organize our lives.\u00a0But just because something is new and useful, doesn\u2019t mean [&hellip;] [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oxford Learning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OxfordLearning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-06T16:04:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-02T16:02:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kenneth Mendoza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@oxfordlearning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@oxfordlearning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kenneth Mendoza\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kenneth Mendoza\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/#\/schema\/person\/254830052bfc199c40ed3991e44d1ada\"},\"headline\":\"5 Reasons Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain and for Well-Being\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-06T16:04:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-02T16:02:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\"},\"wordCount\":397,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Writing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oxfordlearning.com\/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-the-brain\/\",\"name\":\"5 Reasons Writing by Hand is Good for the Brain and for Well-Being - 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