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Buy a printer? I’d sooner resort to handwritten letters!
by David Lee
Pen or keyboard: which is better for the brain?
9-2-2024
Translation: machine translated
Typing is more practical, faster and also easier than writing by hand. Why it's still worth reaching for a (digital) pen.
How to boost your brain with your handwriting
For the study, students were asked to type or write down given words by hand. The participants' brain signals were measured by EEG.
The results showed that writing by hand led to a more pronounced formation of new connections in the brain. This affected the regions of the brain that are responsible for cognitive processes of seeing and recognising, speech formation and movement.
School and university: writing by hand or typing?
The researchers therefore recommend allowing schoolchildren to write by hand in class. Students also fare better if they use handwritten notes in lectures. This way, they store the information as they write it down and can access it more easily thanks to the new neural connections in the brain.
If you prefer digital employees but still prefer to use a pen, that's no problem: writing with digital pens on your tablet also stimulates your brain to form new connections.
Titelfoto: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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