Ambidexterity and the Brain

ambidexterity and the brainMany people identify themselves as being either left or right handed. Although, there are some people who can identify themselves as being ambidextrous, which means they are able to do things with their left hand just as well as they are their right hand.

For many years it was common to train to become ambidextrous in order to improve brain function, however, further studies have since shown that brain function isn’t actually improved by becoming proficient with both hands. In fact, these studies showed that being ambidextrous could cause things like ADHD and cause performance in math and language testing to decrease.

Fortunately, the studies that showed that being ambidextrous was negative were also proven to be wrong when the topic was studied further. So are there any real benefits to being ambidextrous? The short answer is no. Not to the brain. However, those who are ambidextrous are typically more artistically inclined and it is this ambidexterity that allows people to master things like the piano and other instruments.