Want to build some more brain synapses between your hemispheres, possibly reducing the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s and strokes? Try using your opposite hand!

You can actually teach yourself to write just as well with the opposite hand, believe it or not. It’s all a matter of forging new pathways in the brain, which is possible to do in a healthy brain of any age. (It could take months to perfect it, but it can be done.) I’m heavily right-handed, but have decided that for today– or as long as I can stand it– I’m moving my wacom pad over to the left side of my computer. It’s a very strange feeling trying to move the cursor. It makes me feel like i’m five years old, just learning to "draw" my alphabet. I can’t make a good circle, and can’t manage a straight line, because my left hand has no muscle memory for those kinds of fine movements.

When you use your non-dominant hand, both hemispheres of your brain are activated, whereas when you use your dominant hand, only 1 side of your brain is active. Since repeated use strengthens those pathways, using your opposite hand as much as possible is very good for your brain. I’m curious to find out if it will affect memory or make you a more inventive problem-solver.

If computing with the opposite hand drives you crazy, try something simpler: brush your teeth with your opposite hand, hold your fork in the opposite hand, or even try putting on your pants starting with the opposite leg. Every little change can make a difference in your brain.

Source: PubMed.gov

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