Certain handwriting features, such as writing efficiency and coordination, may shed light on the cognitive health of older adults, according to a new study from Portugal.
The small-scale study, published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal on Tuesday, found that the ability to perform certain handwriting tasks differed significantly between participants with cognitive impairments and those without.
Researchers evaluated 58 adults ages 62–92 living in care homes; 38 of those participants had been diagnosed with a form of cognitive impairment, and 20 had not. The participants were given two different categories of tasks using inking pens on digitizing tablets: pen control tasks and handwriting speed tasks.
For the pen control tasks, participants were asked to draw 10 horizontal lines within 20 seconds and to make at least 10 dots in 20 seconds. As for the speed-related tasks, the participants were prompted to write down two sentences of varying complexity that were either shown to them on a card or read aloud.
The researchers found no differences in how the two groups performed the pen control tasks, likely because, as “simple tasks,” they “mainly rely on basic motor control,” a press release for the study stated.
However, there were more significant differences in how the groups handled dictation tasks, including handwriting speed. The cognitively impaired group showed “reduced handwriting efficiency during cognitively demanding dictation,” said Ana Rita Matias, an assistant professor at the University of Évora in Portugal and a senior author of the study.
And while the researchers didn’t see meaningful differences in handwriting coordination between the groups when it came to basic pen-control tasks, they did see differences when “writing required language processing, working memory and executive control,” Matias explained to HuffPost.
“Movements became more constrained, fragmented and less smoothly organized,” she said.
“The strongest message is that handwriting becomes informative when the task is cognitively demanding,” she said. “Simple dots/lines are not enough; dictation better exposes cognitive–motor vulnerability.”
The researchers listed several limitations. For starters, the study noted that the participants’ use of medication was not “systematically analyzed” — though it states that “major neurological and psychiatric conditions known to directly affect motor control were excluded.” Also, all the study participants were living in care homes, which limits the diversity of the environmental factors that can impact someone’s life.
“The study suggests that handwriting exercises, specifically writing sentences read aloud, may reveal signs of cognitive decline, possibly because the task is more mentally demanding than simply copying text,” said Dr. Michael Richardson, a family medicine physician who was not affiliated with the research.
“While that’s an interesting finding, it’s important to recognize that the study only included 58 institutionalized older adults, so it may not reflect what we’d see across the broader population and in our communities,” he told HuffPost.
Richardson said that a practical takeaway from the study is that if you notice a loved one is struggling to write down instructions, or becoming easily confused, it’s worth making an appointment with a healthcare provider to review their cognitive health.
“Their family physician knows their health history and can help determine whether further evaluation is needed,” he said.
Matias said that she would argue for continued research on the links between handwriting and cognitive impairment — but cautiously.
“Handwriting should be explored as a low-cost screening and monitoring marker, not yet as a standalone diagnostic tool,” she said. “Longitudinal studies, medication control, and broader non-institutional samples are needed.”
Overall, research has suggested that writing by hand has cognitive benefits — and that other lifestyle factors can help boost your brain health as well.
Physical activity, sleep, learning new skills and socializing can all be beneficial for your cognitive health.
As Dr. Zaldy Tan, director of the Cedars-Sinai Health System Memory and Aging Program Neurology, previously told HuffPost, it’s important for your brain health to avoid social isolation.
“As social beings, the human brain thrives on interacting with others. … When this does not happen, our memory and cognition can decline over time,” Tan said. “It is important to keep engaged and connected with others.”
