Being left-handed comes with a handful of downsides — for instance right-handed counterparts never have to worry about hand smudges while writing or the struggle of using righty scissors. Many things, like the number pad on the side of a keyboard or gas pedals in cars, aren’t made with southpaws in mind, most likely because only about 10 per cent of the human population is lefthanded.
That 10 per cent, however, includes some of the most influential people in history, ranging from presidents like Barack Obama, to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey.
It’s easy to wonder if the less-popular handedness is associated with some advantages. As it turns out, some scientific studies suggest that sinistrality (the medical term for when left-side body parts work better than those on the right side) could positively impact your life.
1 Lefties can be more creative
Left-handedness is associated with ‘superior divergent thinking’, a process of thought that explores possible solutions and generates creative ideas based on existing information. Additionally, University of Liverpool researchers Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet reported in a 2017 roundup for The Conversation that lefties are more likely to have a more highly developed right hemisphere of the brain, which performs tasks related to creativity. The right brain hemisphere is associated with creativity because it controls non-verbal, conceptual, holistic, intuitive, and imaginative processes, according to Scientific American.
2 Lefties can be better athletes
Babe Ruth’s athletic success may have been linked to his lefthandedness. In 2017, Biology Letters published a study showing that left-handed men and women are overrepresented in elite sports, including baseball, table tennis, cricket, and other interactive games where players have to react quickly.
3 Lefties may face challenges better
A small study published in 2013 in A Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology tested the performance of 47 right-handers and 50 lefthanders on a series of executive-related tasks. The results suggest that left-handed people have better mental flexibility, as The New Yorker reported, which can help them adapt to new situations.
4 Lefties may think differently
According to the American Psychological Association, lefthanded people are less likely to have highly lateralised brains. In lefties, information may pass more frequently between brain hemispheres, leading to unique ideas and solutions to problems.
5 Lefties may have some health benefits
Another study in Laterality published in 2005 found that among its sample of over 1 million people, lefties had lower rates of arthritis and ulcers.
Q: Readers, tell us about your experience if you too are a leftie!