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!

Id tell him a man taking a huge strap on penis up the arse has great mh benefits.

I think the neuroplasticity thing doesn't really apply at this age? If I started doing things with the "wrong" hand, it would have some disastrous and dangerous consequences. If he wants to do that, let him. You carry on as you are. I think there's far more basis to what you've been doing (puzzles etc) than randomly starting to use your non dominant hand at an advanced age!!!

OP this is bollocks. My mum was exhibiting early signs of dementia some years ago and we came across similar articles. When she received her diagnosis I asked the consultant whether there was anything to be gained by considering things like ‘going left landed’.

I was advised that there is no reliable scientific evidence that actively switching your dominant hand staves off dementia. The term for it is ‘Neurobics’ which was popular in the 1990s, and it’s based on a myth that because the brains of left and right handed people are wired slightly differently, training the non-dominant hand builds the cognitive reserve needed to prevent or delay any form of dementia. Which it doesn’t. All it does is to open up a specific pathway within the brain to adapt what you’ve already learned and used all your life. It doesn’t spill over into sharper general thinking or dementia prevention. It only makes you better at using your non-dominant hand - probably causing you significant difficulty in the process because you’re doing something counter intuitive.

I still have the literature he gave us which mentions something called pillars of brain health which include physical exercise - increases blood flow to the brain and protects existing open neural pathways (in other words what you already know and utilise). Continuous learning - mentally stimulating activities such as learning a new language, new hobbies or mastering new skills. Social engagement maintaining connections lowers the risk of depression and dementia. Diet and heart health - a balanced diet and cardiovascular health directly correlate with a lower risk of cognitive impairment.

It might help prevent cognitive decline but he'll end up chopping his arm off (hopefully the left one) when he tries starting DIY with power tools using his non dominant hand .......

I would think that trying to do something like chopping vegetables with your left hand if you're right handed could be dangerous.

Exactly the same happened to my dad.

I’m all for building neural pathways, but couldn’t he just learn the ukelele or do a bit of Duolingo?

OP, you’re my absolute favourite poster ever! I love your style.

i (almost) don’t want you to tell about the Moussaka Incident in case it disappoints.

i am left handed but can knit right handed. I haven’t knitted for decades, perhaps I should take it up. What size jumper would Bob like?

Doing stuff left handed does sound a bit awkward tbh although I did notice some time ago that getting dressed in the morning is something that we do on autopilot in the same order…….so occasionally I get dressed in a different order……like knickers, one sock, bra, jeans, top, other sock or any other random order totally different to my normal routine. It certainly makes you think.

🙄

😂😂😂

I suggest you follow him the next time he goes for a pee, and bellow "Left!" in his ear just as he goes to unzip. Similarly if you're having sex and he goes to use his right hand for anything......

I would use my left hand to give him the two fingered salute.

Learning new things, like languages, and reading, keep the brain active, exercise (cardio and strength training) help; good diet, minimal alcohol, not smoking help; social interactions help. My mum has dementia and has been told to take vit B which is commonly low is dementia sufferers.
All of this helps, but there is no guarantee.
There are links between a lack of the above to dementia, but causation isn't definitive.
And there are links between long-term meds such as benzos and some antidepressants.
But, forcing yourself to use your non-dominant hand isn't a preventative. It may be a useful brain exercise to try something daily, but again, any learning is likely on the same level. Pick something you are interested in instead.

*my mum has dementia. I've read tonnes and deal with her specialists. No one has said, if only your mum has tried using her left hand more often...

.

This

😂 Love you @AMurderofMurderingCrows
And are we not talking about the mousaka?

if being left handed makes you an Einstein then i left my brains at the miltary base

😂

It's nothing sexual is it?

I don’t know the answer to your problem but I must say your Aunt Messy impersonation is pretty good.

What an arsehole you married.

What he’s saying is true- you won’t stave off dementia with crosswords however I think if someone starts shouting LEFT! at you all the time it’s definitely a sign they’re getting old

What happens if you’re already left -handed? Should they be using their right hand?

People who have had a stroke often don't have a choice which hand to use!

Currently scrolling this thread with my left hand

Gosh I giggled something stupid at this 😂 sorry op but it's the funniest thing I've read in a long time