The 5 surprising advantages of left-handed people range from sports to emotional control

If you’re a left-handed person, you know that it’s not easy being a “south paw.” The world is just built around the assumption that people are naturally right-handed. There are even articles about left-handed struggles that impact day-to-day life. Even though those struggles are real, there are some advantages left-handed people have over their right-handed counterparts. In fact, some of those advantages can make righties jealous of their lefty peers.

There are actually quite a few perks of being left-handed that even lefties might not know about. Let's go over a few of the advantages that left-handed folks have over the majority of the population.

Athletics

If you’re an athlete and are left-handed, you may have an edge over your right-handed peers in sports. Since the majority of athletes practice and train against fellow right-handed competitors, they have to adjust their typical training and strategy when up against essentially a mirror image of what they’re used to. In baseball, a pitcher has to alter how they typically throw against a left-handed batter than the usual rightie. In boxing and martial arts, a left-hander typically has a different fighting stance that a right-handed usually has to defend against, along with contending that the left handed punch is likely stronger. There are also left-handers like Lebron James that learn their sport “the right-handed way” during their training but can use their natural left-handedness to become unstoppable. This is, in part, why so many of the most famous athletes happen to be left-handed such as Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, and Martina Navratilova.

Memory

A study from the University of Toledo suggests that left-handed people tend to have better memories of events than right-handed folks, and other experts back this up. The explanation provided by the study is that that left handed people's brain hemispheres are more closely connected compared to right-handers since they often have to have both hemispheres work together to do some tasks the “right” way.

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Self-Control

A study or two came to the conclusion that left-handed people have better inhibitory control than their right-handed peers. When it comes to indulging in vices, keeping their anger in check, and fighting temptation in genera, lefties just have more control. So, if you meet a calm and cool person who turns down a cupcake because they’re sticking to their diet, you may want to offer your left hand for a handshake.

Driving

Oddly, even though most American cars have their gear shift, controls, and even cup holders on the right side of the vehicles, there is research that suggests that left-handed drivers are better at driving than righties. A study from the AA Driving School found that left-handed drivers were 10% more likely to pass their driving test the first time compared to right-handers. It’s theorized that it’s because lefties have more balanced brain hemisphere usage due to living in a right-handed favored world, leading them to have faster reaction times and and being more responsive when driving.

Thinking

Since brain hemisphere usage is more balanced in lefties, this not only suggests left-handers are better at driving but at thinking in too. A 2006 Australian study came to that conclusion after test results showed that left-handed people processed information much faster than righties, especially with tasks that required both hemispheres of the brain in simultaneous use. The idea that lefties are better thinkers is reinforced in the business world, as psychologists have found data that suggests the companies with left-handed CEOs had more peaks in innovation than companies that didn’t.

So, while the world is built for the right-handed, there still appears to be opportunities and advantages waiting to be taken and held by a capable left hand.