DH wants us to go Left Handed. HELP.

[PetulaClarkMementoMori]

Not sure if this is the correct thread, but here goes....

My DH and I have been together for over 30 years and, as we're getting on we've both become more aware of and conscious to avoid what I suppose is called Cognitive decline.

I enjoy crosswords and reading, so I think I'm at least using my brain daily. DH has never bothered much with what he ( Mostly jokingly ) calls 'Book-Learning'. Anyway, all of a sudden he's become an 'expert'. He told me he'd read an article ( Although I suspect he means he's seen a two- minute video on Tok Tok ) which claims using your left hand for tasks that you would normally use your right hand for can stave off cognitive decline and now he thinks this is a miracle cure-all.
And, of course, he's become obsessed, everything has to be done left-handed, and if he see's me using my right hand, he booms 'Left!'. I can be chopping vegetables or opening a jar of coffee and I'll suddenly hear 'Left!' in my earhole. I've told him it's annoying, but he's as stubborn as a goat that's been struck by lightning.
Yesterday he spent over two hours repairing the lawnmower left-handed and somehow thinks it's turned him into bloody Einstein in a cloth cap.
I've tried suggesting some 'alternatives', as I read that learning a new language is effective. I've always fancied trying Portuguese, or even Hausa or Finnish. But I suspect trying to entice him with any of this will be met with the equivalent of 'Foreign Muck', and it will be the Moussaka situation all over again.
Honestly, I could scream. I know men get fixated, especially as they get older but this is honestly too much. I'm no Carol Vorderman so can someone explain whether there's any truth in his claims of Neural-plasticity in the brain?
I really need to get some answers because if I keep hearing 'Left!' I may well go hard right! In fact, the other day whilst driving he started rabbitting Left! Left! and it was only when I realised that he was pointing to the entrance to the Garden Centre, that I heeded what he was saying.
So, is there any truth to it? And is anyone else's aging husband going as mad as an Aardwark at an all you can eat Ant-Buffet?
I better go, I can hear him rumaging in the airing cupboard and if he see's me typing with two hands it'll be all she wrote. Literally!

Well, we're both retired and live in a small village. We do things separately. I'll often Zumba while he's trimming his hedges with his friends. But such is life.

This is very bizarre. My dad was forced to write with and be right handed as a kid in school back in the 40s in another country in europe.
I'm lefty and white ambidextrous fur lots of things. Wanking is the right, and I have an Orthodox stance in boxing. Haha!
I hope you can ignore him trying to manipulate. No matter how ill he is.

oh well there you go then, he can teach all his friends to trim their bushes left handed

I think I speak for everyone when I say we need to know about the moussaka incident again!

And I applaud your writing style!

In all seriousness, tell him once that you are happy if he wants to do this but you are catagorically NOT doing and if he belows "left" at you again you will be telling him to fuck off each and every time.

....hedges, I meant hedges of course I meant hedges

My uncle was naturally left-handed, but was a child in less enlightened times and was forced by teachers to write right-handed. They'd give him a smack over the knuckles with a cane if they caught him.

He had a stroke in his 60's and it severely affected the right side of his body. However, since his left side was naturally dominant, it really helped with his recovery.

I’m a neuroscientist. This is nonsense.

the best ways to reduce cognitive decline are moderate exercise and social interactions. So a walk with a friend or a dance class. Cultural activities help too.

get a book called The Art Cure by daisy fancourt

And, of course, he's become obsessed, everything has to be done left-handed, and if he see's me using my right hand, he booms 'Left!'. I can be chopping vegetables or opening a jar of coffee and I'll suddenly hear 'Left!' in my earhole. I've told him it's annoying, but he's as stubborn as a goat that's been struck by lightning.

@PetulaClarkMementoMori

The left side of your DH head would need to spend some left-sided time in a left-handed A&E having a fork removed if he were mine.
And he'd have to be thankful I didn't attack his left plum, too.

My DH is Left Handed. He tends to use both interchangeably. I sometimes lead with my Left Hand.

Your DH is crackers.

Oh that is superb , I love it 😂

Well he can do what he likes, he's an adult. What he can't do is bully you into it. Tell him to do him and you will do you.

"Please send me a link to a peer reviewed medical article on this and I will read it and make my own decision." Usually shuts people up IME.

I have been doing a lot of reading and looking at YouTube about dementia because my Mum is declining and I'm worried about my old age, and I have seen the suggestion to use the non-dominant hand sometimes. But there's nothing magical about using your left hand, it's just that you should be doing things that are difficult to force your brain to make an effort and using a non-dominant hand is quick and convenient compared to, say, learning Finnish.

I have read similar, and also that balance is important and puzzles. I don't think anything I have read said to go left-handed to this extent.

By the way I practice my balance every day and do puzzles. I have also been know to walk backwards,my brain actually feels different doing this, do NOT tell your husband!

Really? So many people have been writing saying 'Oh yes, that's true', but I'll take the word of a trained professional. Where has this idea come from then? It's very strange.

I’m a Neuro-physiotherapist and brain coach. There’s some truth to using your non dominant hand to do tasks that you’d automatically use your dominant hand for, as it stimulates new neural pathways in a different area of your brain. It’s something an American brain expert, Jim Kwik, recommends.
However, there are many other things you can and should do to decrease the risk of cognitive decline including:
learn a new cognitive skill- eg a new language, a new subject.
learn a new physical skill that involves whole body coordination - table tennis, badminton, yoga, t’ai chi, dancing, parkour
regular social activities are very important as you age
check your hearing and get hearing aids so the auditory part of your brain continues to get stimulated
learn how to reduce stress levels- meditation, journaling, yoga, breathing exercises etc Magnesium supplements can also help with managing anxiety and stress
consume more Omega 3s- either from food (oily fish in particular) or from supplementation
have a good quality multivitamin, ensuring it has recommended daily allowance of B vitamins which are important for healthy nerve/brain cells
reduce carbs and increase protein and fibre to help maintain steady blood glucose levels
do cardio exercises 3-4x a week to increase blood flow to your brain (& the rest of your body)- brisk walking (walking like you’re late to work or need to catch a train), jogging, any sport that makes you slightly out of breath.

It’s never just about 1 change that’s going to be the answer to preventing any disease including cognitive decline/ dementia.

I hope the tips above are helpful.

Well, the trouble is if you said peer-reviewed to my Bob he'd ask, 'Which one Wigan or Brighton.

Yes I’ve read about this and challenging your brain, I started brushing my teeth with the other hand,
even though it is, I believe, valid your husband is still being a twat

@PetulaClarkMementoMori then give him a left-handed face slap (hard!).

You’re a brilliant writer OP, I’m giggling like mad x

Oh golly, that's an awful lot to consider. Parkour is that Japanese? It's nothing sexual is it? I don't want to be a prude but that might be a bit much, I'm nearly 70!

Moussaka?

I am left handed, does that mean I’m immune from cognitive decline?? 🤣

You could fill a spray bottle with water and every time he shouts at you, squirt him with it (I haven’t tried it on husbands but it stops my pug from scratching the furniture)

God, what an annoying twat.

I'm another who needs to know about the mousakka situation please.

How's his left-handed arse wiping going?