With just 10% of the population being left-handed, it can be easy for everyone else to forget we're living in a right-handed world. But aside from making it tough to cut a straight line with a pair of scissors designed for righties, being a lefty can also have some subtle effects on our physical and mental health.
The brains and bodies of lefties may operate differently than those of right-handed people. Handedness seems to be determined very early on in fetal development, when a lot of other things about your future are being determined as well. If you grew up left-handed, you know that it comes with some challenges.
Desks at school were made for righties with the little ledge for the right arm to rest while writing the answers to quizzes .From scissors to can openers and musical instruments, and even the smudging of pencil lead all over your hand, the left-handed strife never seems to end. Here’s the truth behind some of the most common myths about lefties.
Myth: Lefties are more creative.
Fact: There are some things that all super creative people have
in common; being left-handed isn’t one of them. The link between left-handers
and creativity is a longstanding myth that is likely a myth. A 1995 study found
left-handed men tended to think more creatively when problem-solving. There was
no difference in the thinking between female righties and lefties. When you
look at actual creative achievements in one’s lifetime, the evidence is not
strong for association with left-handedness.
Myth: Lefties are more likely to be leaders.
Fact: Six of the last 12 U.S. presidents have been lefties, but
that’s only considered presidential trivia not a qualification for the
job. There’s no hard scientific evidence that handedness had anything to do
with their leadership skills. Some of the basis for those observations between
leadership and handedness comes from looking at historical figures. The fact is
that there must be something common between these individuals who are elected
and successful, one being their handedness.
Myth: Lefties are more intelligent.
Fact: There’s an idea that left-handed people are more
intelligent, but that’s not so. A study from the 70s examined more than 7,000
grade school children and found no difference in intellectual ability between left-handers
and right-handers. Lefties may think differently. The world is not a
left-handed-friendly place utensils, scissors, and other items of daily use are
designed for the right-handed person. Left-handed people have to think flexibly
and come up with ways to use.
Myth: Lefties are introverted.
Fact: Another common lore is that left-handed people tend to be
more withdrawn than righties. A 2013 New Zealand study found no differences
across any of the five personality measures tested between right-handers and
left-handers. The stereotype that left-handers are mentally or morally inferior
doesn’t reflect reality.
Myth: Lefties are “right-brained.”
Fact: Since most right-handed people use the left hemisphere of
the brain to process language, that must mean that left-handed people think
with the right side of the brain, right? 98 percent of righties are
left-brained, so are 70 percent of lefties. For the most part, left-handers do
not differ obviously from right-handers. They certainly don’t have reversed
brains.
Fact: Lefties may have more sleep problems.
A small study in the journal Chest monitored the
rhythmic limb movements of right-handers and left-handers while they slept.
Researchers found that 94 percent of left-handed sleepers had limb movements
(which can be an indicator of periodic limb movement disorder) compared to just
69 percent of right-handed sleepers.
Fact: Lefties may be more likely to
experience serious mental health disorders.
Among people suffering from mental illness, those with
psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are much more likely to be
left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder,
according to a study from Yale University. Researchers studied a small group of
individuals from an outpatient psychiatric clinic and found that 40 percent of
those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were left-handed.
Researchers are particularly interested in exploring the
link between characteristics of psychosis (such as hallucinations or delusions)
and handedness. They believe the answer may lie in what part of the brain
lefties tend to use more. Finding biomarkers such as this can hopefully enable
us to identify and differentiate mental disorders earlier and perhaps one-day
tailor treatment in more effective ways.
"If the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body
then only left handed people are in the right mind." (W.C.
Fields)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10 Things You Never Knew
About Lefties” by Grace Eire
·
“20 ways being left-handed impacts your health”
·
“5 Myths about Left-Handed People We All Need to
Stop Believing (and 2 Surprising Truths)” by Alyssa
Jung
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