Handwriting Lights Up Your Brain—Here’s How

Pick up a pen to activate neural pathways that might otherwise remain dormant.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

Picture two brains: one buzzing with activity, connections firing across regions in a synchronized neural ballet, and one showing only scattered flickers of engagement—isolated islands of electrical activation.

Both belong to university students sitting in the same lecture while trying to capture the same ideas. The difference between them isn’t intelligence, attention span, or interest in the subject. Rather, it is the tools in their hands.

One holds a trusty pen poised over lined paper, while the other’s fingers hover over a laptop keyboard.

This neural contrast, shown in a study in Frontiers in Psychology, is just one piece of mounting evidence suggesting that our rush toward digital convenience may be coupled with significant cognitive costs. From neuroscience labs to classrooms, research comparing traditional and digital learning tools finds that pens are not old-school quite yet.

Slow Wins the Race

As early as 1979, studies affirmatively concluded that note-taking was significantly more effective in learning and remembering than simply listening passively—the pen was no doubt mighty. Yet with a plethora of convenient digital tools at our disposal, does the pen still hold such might?

In a seminal 2014 study, “The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard,” researchers Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer conducted three experiments to examine handwritten notes versus typed notes.

In the first experiment, Princeton University undergraduates watched TED Talks while taking notes either by hand or on laptops.

When tested afterward, students who took handwritten notes scored 12 percent to 20 percent higher on conceptual understanding questions—although both groups performed similarly on factual recall.

The researchers discovered that because of the ease of typing, laptop users tended to transcribe words from lectures verbatim—that is, word for word—while handwriters had to process and summarize the information.

“Word-for-word transcription doesn’t require deep thinking,” Oppenheimer told The Epoch Times. With pen and paper, what seems like a disadvantage—slower writing speed—actually becomes an advantage, requiring true conceptual understanding before spilling ink.

In the second experiment, laptop users were explicitly instructed not to take verbatim notes. Despite the instructions, laptop users still transcribed more content word for word, leading to inferior performance once more.

In the third experiment, both student groups were given time to review their notes before testing to see if reviewing could compensate for the disadvantages seen in laptop note-taking. However, even when given time to review, pen note-takers consistently outperformed laptop users.

Illustration by The Epoch Times

“There is definitely no one-size-fits-all solution to note-taking,” Oppenheimer said.

He acknowledged that in certain situations, rapid note capture might be beneficial, while in others—particularly with abstract concepts, graphics, or equations—typing away may be less effective.

What Goes On in the Brain

When Oppenheimer’s paper was published in 2014, it caught the attention of Norwegian researchers Audrey van der Meer and her husband, Frederikus Ruud van der Weel.

As neuroscientists, they were naturally curious about the underlying mechanisms.

“What is going on inside the brain when people write by hand as opposed to typing on a keyboard?” Van der Meer said.

This question led them to conduct experiments, first published in 2017 in Frontiers in Psychology.

“Initially, we didn’t expect to see any differences,” Van der Meer told The Epoch Times.

The skepticism was reasonable and offered a potential counterpoint to Oppenheimer’s findings: What if the benefits of handwriting weren’t neurological at all, but simply circumstantial?

After all, compared with longhand note-takers, laptop users are much more likely to be distracted. Studies show that undergraduates spend about half to two-thirds of class time off-task when using laptops, resulting in poorer performance.

Moreover, this tech distraction is not just personal—it’s inadvertently contagious. Research published in Computers & Education found that students who simply sat behind peers who were multitasking on laptops scored 17 percent lower on tests compared with those sitting behind peers without devices.

To determine whether handwriting actually provided a neurological advantage, Van der Meer used a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) “bathing cap,” equipped with 256 electrodes, to measure brain activity. EEG recordings gauge electrical signals produced when brain cells communicate, allowing researchers to observe which neural networks activate during different tasks and how these regions coordinate their activity.

In the experiment, students were shown an image, such as an umbrella icon, and then told to alternate between writing the Norwegian word “paraply” (“umbrella” in English) by hand and typing it on a keyboard.

Experimental design Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Courtesy of Norwegian University of Science and Technology

“To cut a long story short, we found that the brain works completely [differently] when you are using your hand to draw or write, as opposed to using the keyboard,” Van der Meer said.

Handwriting stimulated widespread, synchronized brain activity across regions linked to memory and learning, while typing produced substantially weaker patterns of neural engagement.

More specifically, students writing by hand showed interconnected low-frequency theta and alpha oscillations across the brain—connections that were notably absent during typing. These low frequencies have characteristic cognitive functions: Theta waves help process new information and support working memory, while alpha waves aid in long-term memory formation.

A brain model showing the widespread connections formed during handwriting. Pink lines show theta wave connections and blue lines show alpha wave connections. Solid lines represent the strongest connections, while dashed and dotted lines show progressively weaker (but still significant) connections. These extensive connection networks appear during handwriting but not during typing. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Courtesy of Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Van der Meer explained that the precise fine motor coordination required for handwriting activates more complex, multisensory neural pathways, creating stronger memory imprints. By contrast, the simple motor actions of typing, scrolling, or tapping fail to engage these neural networks, resulting in weaker retention.

“It’s tempting to type down everything a lecturer is saying, but you are literally typing in the blind,” she said. “The information is coming in through the ears and going out through your fingertips—you don’t process the incoming information.”

Handwriting creates a unique cognitive fingerprint.

“If you miss class and borrow a classmate’s notes, they don’t make much sense, because it’s personalized to the individual,” Van der Meer said.

Given her findings on handwriting’s powerful brain stimulation effects in younger adults, Van der Meer believes that these benefits may extend to older populations. She is currently investigating whether keeping a handwritten diary might help protect against cognitive decline in older adults.

She believes that since handwriting benefits cognitive function, neglecting these neural pathways could have the opposite effect, potentially accelerating cognitive decline.

“The brain uses the principle: Use it or lose it,“ Van der Meer said. ”I fear that in the long run, our brains might actually shrink if we don’t use them properly.”

Her advice? “Take up a pen as often as you can during the day” and “have pencils, crayons, pens, and paper lying around for kids.” She emphasized that handwriting is especially crucial for children as they develop their neurological infrastructure.

Evidence supporting her advice appears in studies across age groups. One study with preschoolers aged 5 to 6 had children learn eight German letters either by writing them or by typing them on a keyboard. In subsequent tests of word reading, writing, and letter recognition, the handwriting group consistently outperformed the typing group across all measures, scoring several percentage points higher.

These benefits extend to adult literacy. In a 2021 study in Psychological Science, adults learning Arabic who practiced by hand not only mastered words faster, but remarkably also had better reading and spelling abilities—despite not having specifically practiced these skills.

The Habit of Top Students

After Mueller and Oppenheimer released their study, subsequent research produced mixed results. A 2021 study titled “Don’t Ditch the Laptop Just Yet” even challenged the conclusions.

“Overall, results do not support the idea that longhand note-taking improves immediate learning via better encoding of information,” the 2021 study reads.

However, a recent 2024 meta-analysis by Abraham Flanigan and colleagues examined 24 studies with more than 3,000 participants and found that handwritten notes were clearly superior in higher education. The study concluded that regardless of the learning material, “handwriting [is] still the champion,” Flanigan told The Epoch Times.

The analysis showed a substantial advantage for handwritten note-taking: Nearly 40 percent of students who handwrote their notes achieved A or B grades, compared with only 30 percent of students who typed their notes.

To illustrate the real-world impact, Flanigan shared a story about a standout university student. She was exceptionally motivated—arriving early, sitting up front, and submitting assignments on time.

Flanigan noticed that she always typed her notes during class.

“She typed so quickly that she probably could have had a career as a courtroom transcriptionist,” he said. Yet she eventually approached him during office hours with a problem she couldn’t solve: The lectures weren’t sticking for her.

According to Flanigan, “No matter how attentive she was, once a lesson finished it felt like the information had gone in one ear and out the other, although she had recorded copious amounts of notes on her laptop.”

He suggested a simple change: Switch to handwriting.

“I think you know how the story ends,” he said.

After the switch, the student found herself paying closer attention, processing information more deliberately, and leaving each lecture with better recollection and understanding of the material.

The Bittersweet Price of Learning

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” More generalized, this adage reflects the principle of “no pain, no gain; no loss, no gain.”

Although new shiny tools—from note-taking devices to artificial intelligence—may appear to expedite or boost productivity, “convenience does not often enhance learning,” Flanigan said.

According to Oppenheimer, “handwriting supports the sort of deep thinking that helps learning,” but it certainly isn’t the only way.

He suggests that people seek “desirable difficulties” in learning that compel individuals to engage earnestly with the material, such as reframing information in their own words or discussing what they have learned with others.

“Most people don’t naturally engage in these strategies because they are harder, and we tend to prefer ease to difficulty,“ he said. ”But thinking harder is usually good for learning.”

Interestingly, even the type of writing matters. A study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that older adults with mild cognitive impairment who practiced Chinese calligraphy writing—formal, rehearsed, and disciplined writing—for eight weeks experienced improvements in working memory and attentional control.

Participants who practiced calligraphy showed improvement of more than 30 percent in working memory tasks compared with only 11.8 percent of participants who used iPads and did not engage in calligraphy. The benefits of calligraphy were present six months after the training ended, suggesting long-lasting cognitive improvements.

Illustration by The Epoch Times

Similar to typing, digital mediums—such as e-books—seem convenient but also carry an inexorable price tag. Comprehension is consistently lower when people read on digital devices rather than good old paper.

Therefore, more is not always better, according to Natalia Kucirkova, professor of reading and early childhood development at The Open University. Kucirkova told The Epoch Times that although digital mediums have their respective advantages, striving for more content, accessibility, or interaction often leads to an inevitable loss in learning outcomes.

Thus, even as technology propels us forward, these seemingly archaic tools—pen and paper—fundamentally shape how children and adults learn to read, write, and think. Van der Meer lamented that teachers now meet first graders who barely know how to hold a pencil.

“It’s such a shame,” she said.

Van der Meer said she hopes that future generations rediscover the value of handwriting—through poems, love letters, or even simple grocery lists.

She noted that traditionally, handwriting has been imbued with personality and individual identity.

“It’s not just a skill,” she said. “Handwriting is a part of our cultural heritage—it’s part of being human.”