Drawing Is Better Than Writing for Memory Retention

A study published in Experimental Aging and Research found drawing can help older adults retain new information, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers also determined drawing was better at enabling memory retention than re-writing notes, visualization exercises, or passively looking at images. Both young people and older adults performed various memory-encoding techniques and then tested their memory. Participants would either encode each word by writing, by drawing, or by listing physical characteristics related to each item, with memory evaluated later. Both groups, especially the older adults, exhibited better retention with drawing instead of writing. It is the team's belief that drawing encouraged improved memory because it included multiple ways — visual, spatial, verbal, semantic, and motoric — of representing information. "The simplicity of the strategy means that it can be used in many settings," says University of Waterloo Professor Myra Fernandes. Waterloo's Melissa Meade suggests the research has "exciting implications for therapeutic interventions to help people with dementia ... hold on to valuable episodic memories throughout the progression of their disease."