You bounce back more quickly from injuries

You bounce back more quickly from injuries
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If you suffer from a stroke or other brain-related injuries, research shows that left-handed people recover faster. While we hope nobody has to go through anything as traumatic as a brain injury, it’s nice to know that you could potentially have an easier time recovering. The reasoning? The cognitive functions are spread out in the brains of lefties, which means that in theory, when you have a stroke (which is typically concentrated to a small area of the brain), less of your cognitive functioning will be affected.

Check out these fascinating stroke recovery discoveries.

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Lefties are more competitive

Lefties are more competitive
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Everything is a competition nowadays, so being competitive will get you far. In a study done at Northwestern, it was found that lefties are more competitive than cooperative. Take this example from the study: “Cooperation favours same-handedness – for sharing the same tools, for example. Physical competition, on the other hand, favours the unusual. In a fight, a left-hander in a right-handed world would have an advantage.” So, being a leftie could give you a leg up on physical competitions like certain sports, but the jury’s still out on mental competitions.

Lefties are better at video games

Lefties are better at video games
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Before you ask: No, it doesn’t have to do with the competition thing. Research from Australia National University showed that left-handed people outperform right-handers in processing a large amount of information at a fast rate…like shooting enemies, dodging zombies, and avoiding GTA car collisions. These findings can be extended past the computer screen, too. Like, you’re probably better at absorbing the list of things your mother told you to do during your last phone call than your righty counterparts. (We’re joking, of course, but this skill is certainly a valuable asset.)

Here are 8 reasons video games might just be better for you than books.

You may have better self-control

You may have better self-control
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As it turns out, left-handers are shown to have better self-control than right-handers. They don’t have any trouble passing up those brownies or refraining from lashing out at a coworker, two things that can be very difficult sometimes. A study in JECN found that lefties have better “inhibitory control,” which regulates the way we control ourselves, than righties. That will come in handy! (Pun intended)

Right-handed family members are more similar than you think

Right-handed family members are more similar than you think

“While people tend to draw a line in the sand between lefties and righties, research is starting to suggest that it’s not quite that simple,” says Jason Eckerman, PhD, a licensed psychologist and lefty. He notes that one study found that righties that had left-handed blood relatives showed similar brain scans to lefties when presented with a language task, whereas righties without left-handed relatives responded pretty differently. What does this mean? “If you’re the only lefty in your family, you can feel comforted by the fact that your right-handed family members probably understand you better than you think.”

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Source: RD.com

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