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A simple manual and daily habit, although going out of fashion, would have the advantage of boosting our cognitive abilities according to a recent study. Do you know which one?
At a time when everything wants to be digital and fast, using your 10 fingers would be a guarantee of good cognitive health. This is the case with handwriting which, beyond releasing your emotions or making you a writer, would also be excellent for the brain.
Handwriting promotes learning and memory
Taking a pen and a notebook to write on a daily basis would be a good way to pamper your cognitive abilities, according to a Norwegian study.
The researchers involved compared the electrical activity of the brains of around forty students using a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG). Some take notes digitally, with keyboards or screen pens. Their analysis is clear: brain activity is much more elaborate in the brain regions involved in memory and the encoding of new information in students who wrote manually.
Scientists explain this in concrete terms: hand movements in traditional pen writing lead to spatio-temporal patterns in the brain that promote learning.
Writing, a very accessible method to improve your daily life
Despite its advantages, handwriting is going out of fashion in our lives, in favor of voice notes or digital applications. According to a recent Ifop survey, 78% of people say they write less by hand than ten years ago and 55% now admit to using the keyboard rather than the pen to write on a daily basis.
Taking back a notebook, journal, and a pen for a few minutes a day to write down your impressions, your questions, your projects or quite simply to tell an anecdote would nevertheless be the source of several benefits in an overbooked daily life, several studies suggest:
- Handwriting would strengthen our self-esteem, release emotions and listen to our own feelings;
- It would also reduce signs of anxiety and improve our mental health;
- Finally, it would fight against negative ideas by forcing you to concretize your thoughts on paper and turn them into positive action.
Three more good reasons to treat yourself to a beautiful journal to fill out conscientiously every day.
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