Can you remember the last time you got a letter, a real, hand-written letter? You probably felt very connected to the person who wrote you. It may even have made your day. But did you know it also might have saved your life?

Researchers at the University of Denver (News - Alert) have found, in a study involving soldiers serving in war zones, most in Iraq, that letters from home – just a few words scribbled on paper, or even in an email – may protect them “against one of war's most insidious and long-lasting wounds, according to a story by Dennis Thompson at HealthDay, as posted at news.yahoo.com.

"Those positive, permanent forms of communication may have mental health benefits," Benjamin Loew, a graduate research assistant in the psychology department at the University of Denver, told Thompson. Loew co-authored the study, published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, according to Thompson...

As much as we’ve grown used to (and love) them, telephone calls or video chats just did not have the same positive effect on soldiers' mental well-being as the receipt of written communication or even care packages, the study found, according to Thompson’s story.

Why? One theory holds that people who write letters tend more to think through about what they’re writing and “are less likely to be argumentative and more free to share affection and other positive feelings,” Thompson writes.

Letters also serve as mementos that soldiers can carry with them as a reminder of home, and provide them with hope knowing that others are thinking about them.

"A soldier could repeatedly pull out a letter or an e-mail and feel support," Loew told Thompson. "A phone call can be recalled but can't be re-experienced. A letter can be read over and over again."

According to a story at US News and Health, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated that “PTSD afflicts nearly 31 percent of Vietnam veterans, 10 percent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, 11 percent of veterans of Afghanistan fighting and 20 percent of Iraq war veterans.”

In another recent study, as reported by Linda Searing, happily married soldiers were found to suffer fewer PTSD symptoms when in frequent contact with their spouses, especially if that communication came in letters and emails rather than phone calls, instant messages or video chats.

Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News - Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.