How Writing on Paper Is Good For Your Mental Health

Technology is very fast replacing things that used to be done the old fashioned way. The emergence of smartphones, tablets, and computers, which are mainly used for typing, is replacing writing on paper fast. There are numerous apps which ensure efficient typing at high speed and simple notes on digital devices. Interestingly, there are some in the personal development and productivity world that insists that one should write by hand. There seem to be hidden benefits which one cannot gain while typing on a device. We look further into why and how writing on paper is beneficial. How writing on paper is good for your mental health I. Enhanced learning capabilities A study was conducted among different groups of students; the first group was those who preferred taking notes by typing on a laptop and the second group was of students who took notes by hand. The students were later tested on detailed facts of their learning. The students, who took notes by hand learned more, understood the concepts taught and made sense out of them and had the ability to generalize them compared to the students who preferred typing notes in class. The ones who typed had longer notes, but those who wrote by hand had shorter notes due to their understanding and ability to shorten the conceptual understanding. The hand writing students found it easy to apply what they had learned compared to the ones who typed. II. As you age your mind stays sharp Writing on paper is recommended by physicians for older individuals as a cognitive exercise which is effective. Writing on paper activates various parts of the brain, including the language, thinking and working centers. Typing is a more robotic activity, but writing by hand keeps your mind activated because you think of the […]

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