Brain Health is a unique series focused on how to help you age well. These stories have been created in cooperation with AARP and Word In Black.

It’s a form of communication as ancient as the written word: applying ink to paper from a nib or brush and creating words or messages, using precise techniques that combine language and art. 

The results — beautiful, practical, creative — have made calligraphy a popular craft, from medieval times into the digital age. Now, experts say, the centuries-old art form can help support brain health, particularly as we age. 

AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) recommends learning a new skill and participating in formal and self-initiated informal educational activities as a way to help develop memory, attention, and language. 

While that recommendation sweeps in a range of possibilities, such as learning how to paint or how to play an instrument, learning calligraphy seems tailor-made for brain health. 

“Calligraphy and concentrating – it forces the brain to fire those synapses that keep you lucid and clear,” says Dawn Reynolds, professional calligrapher and owner of Mod Girl with Vintage Love, a design and lifestyle business. Reynolds teaches the art form to teens as well as seniors. 

Scientists have long known that the act of forming letters with a pen invokes a series of brain processes. It activates the motor area and other parts of the brain, sending signals that spark movement in your hand and fingers. Research suggests writing also helps with learning and memory. 

Calligraphy, however, takes the brain benefits a step further, combining creativity, manual dexterity and a level of concentration that borders on meditative.

The craft requires “recalling words, relating to knowledge of character style and form, reflecting on prior practice experiences, and envisioning the final piece of work,” according to one 2024 study. 

But Reynolds says calligraphy simply helps writers step away from screens and keyboards to exercise their brains and live in the moment. 

“You’re using your hands,” she says. “It also helps you do it and keep some dexterity so you can move and get up from the table and you can use a knife and fork.” 

Reynolds began learning calligraphy during the pandemic through an online course to help her process being a caregiver for her mother and transition into a new career. 

“You release the stress and the depression of woulda coulda shoulda,” she says. “You’re simply practicing mindfulness and you don’t even know it. That helps give you some clarity and calm the cortisol.”

One of the body’s natural stress hormones, cortisol levels affect older adults much more than younger adults. One of the body’s natural stress hormones, cortisol levels affects older adults much more than younger adults. 

“Taking pen to paper is very meditative in itself and just being able to create something knowing that it came from your hands,” says Angenise Rawls, a calligrapher and owner of the Graceful Pen Studio. “Being able to just sit down and just take that time to write your thoughts – whether it’s processing grief or dealing with an overwhelming situation.”

A teacher introduced Rawls to calligraphy when she was in elementary school more than forty years ago. Since then, she has infused it into her professional and social life, teaching classes to newcomers.

Rawls believes calligraphy can unleash hidden creativity for those who stay with it. For her, calligraphy is a form of meditation. She writes scripture. “Just being able to sit down and write something on paper is almost like a tribute to our ancestors,” she shares. 

Find more information from AARP about brain health, click here.