Do you know the fascinating health benefits of regular writing?

Are you happy and fulfilled with life, or are you seeking answers? No, you haven’t stumbled across a self-help site; you are where you thought you were. And I’m here to deliver the fantastic news to all you regular and occasional writers; regular writing is good for you! Both mentally and physiologically, it seems. I’m going to attempt to convince you why you should get pen to paper or tappy fingers to keyboard immediately to benefit you. So, without further hesitation, let me get my digits on the laptop pronto and practice what I preach.

Regular writing benefits

 “The biggest thing that writing does for us is it helps us access another part of our brain that we’re less likely to use on a daily basis.”

Allison Fallon, quoted above, is a writer who focused on the power and healing that expressive writing can bring. She said that we use the expressive part of our brain to write, which is the same part of the brain used in therapy. In addition, she believed that writing allows us a safe space to convey personal feelings and thoughts, which in itself is cathartic.

Furthermore, expressive writing has been studied over the years, and the benefits in the long term are worth sharpening your pencil for. The results show that expressive writing can reduce blood pressure, trips to hospital and days off work. It can also improve mood, the immune system, liver and lung function and memory. So, it might be worth finding some regular slots in your life to get cracking.

Express yourself

It’s a little obvious, but writing allows you to express yourself. Even better, writing about yourself is a good thing! Remember in the past when you were narked about something, and some wise owl told you to write it down (just me?) to get it off your chest? You didn’t need to send it or do anything with it; it was simply an exercise to express your emotion and vent. Expressive writing allows you to write about personal and traumatic events that you will probably never share but could bring you mental and physical health benefits in the long term.

Improve learning

So, it’s a no brainer, really, isn’t it? If you’re writing about something, especially in-depth, you’re learning more about the subject. The subject matter becomes clearer and more in-depth if you research and write about it. Often if you write something down, you might be more likely to remember it.

Tick; writing makes you smart.

Share your thoughts

Regular writing might be one way to express yourself, heal faster or offer closure, but writing about topics you’re passionate about, your business, your loves etc., is a great way to express your thoughts and point of view. If you struggle to write but want to, writing about yourself, your experiences, or your opinions can be a gentle introduction to give you motion.

Once you practice and find your groove, you can get stuck into pieces that educate others by sharing your knowledge or opinions. You may think you have nothing to tell others, but we all do. Sometimes it just takes time, effort and practice to get it into words.

Hone cognitive skills

If you’re researching for an article or piece of work, you’re carrying out a cognitive exercise by challenging your mental skills. As you construct an argument or consider the structure of your content, you’re using mental logic, critical thinking and discipline.

I often find myself with brain ache after a long stint of complex writing because if I’m writing about a subject I don’t know inside out, the research, reading and absorption of the content can be demanding. Sometimes writing detailed information into my own words is enough to make me want to bang my head against the laptop, but on the plus side, I’m activating my cognitive skills.

Go a bit zen

I may be biased here, but does anyone else find writing incredibly relaxing? Not, perhaps, if you factor in scary deadlines. But if you have the opportunity to lose yourself in a word maze or create a brilliant plotline for your novel, it’s easy to lose all sense of reality. You can calm your mind, ditch any negative thoughts or worries and soak up the utter escapism of the words you’re smashing out on your laptop.

Communicate with the world

Okay, that’s a bit of a statement, but technically you do have the potential of a global audience if you fancy it. When you write a blog for your website or publish a piece online, anyone anywhere could read it. Maybe I’m just a show-off, but I love that idea. You can communicate with anyone through your writing and educate others or share your words of wisdom. Surely, that makes us and others happy?

Writing benefits children too!

Writing also helps children to develop and stimulates their brains. Studies show that those children who write by hand express more ideas and produce words quicker than those who type.  And as much as the dreaded cursive writing often brings screams and shouts, it too brings with it benefits as it develops motor skills and can improve writing speed, spelling and legibility.

And what’s more, evidence shows that writing study notes rather than typing them allow students to reinforce their learning by processing the information they are learning and writing it down in their own words.

 

So, the next time you struggle to settle into your writing, consider the benefits it can bring. After you’ve completed a writing stint, pat yourself on the back. Not only have you produced something, but you have practised focus, self-discipline and mental development. Try and get into a routine of regular writing and you’ll reap those benefits. Now surely that creative burst deserves a little lie-down?

If you would like to have a chat about any aspect of your business writing, please give me a shout.