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!

have you tried Squaredle? its excellent.

😂

I'm a bit odd. I'm right-handed but use my left hand for some things and can't do them with my right. Like playing Jenga, and using a mouse. That all started when I lost the use of my right hand temporarily after an accident; I used my left hand for those things and never went back. I also used to do theatrical make-up for an amateur dramatics group (Panto, yay!) and used my right hand for applying make-up to one side of their face and my left hand for the other side. I still do my own make-up that way. My hobby involves the use of wire and I can manipulate it with either hand, and frequently swap from one hand to the other mid-activity.

I can also read upside-down. Told you I was odd.

DD was ambidextrous until she was about 5.

This.

I can imagine my DH getting a bit fixated on something like this, he’s an all in kinda guy too. Thanks for the laughs, op!!

Mr Google's opinion:

"Many people try using their non-dominant hand for daily tasks (like brushing teeth or writing) to build new neural pathways. While this practice—known as neuroplasticity—can challenge your brain and make you more mindful, there is no direct clinical evidence that it staves off cognitive decline or prevents dementia on its own."

He is taking an extreme point of view - definitely annoying, don't know if you find it concerning. You shouldn't have to put up with this.

Been doing that for years! But then I was born that way.

We left handers often have to do things right handed as we live in a right hand world. Many tasks with tools, equipment, situations, design can only be done right handed. We notice these things, the other 90% don’t.

I have read about this before, but apparently brushing your teeth left-handed once a day is sufficient! You don’t need to suddenly force yourself to do every little thing with your non-dominant hand. Even better if you brush your teeth whilst stood on one leg, apparently (seriously!) as it helps to activate different parts of the brain at the same time. Your husband is taking it to a wildly unnecessary extreme!

There is truth to it, but it doesn't have to be as extreme as your DH is suggesting. There have been some studies showing children develop at a greater rate if they spend 10 minutes a day writing with their left hand.

😂

Honestly, I'd kill the fucker and dig the hole with my left hand. @AMurderofMurderingCrows 😂

Tell him he can sign the divorce papers with his left hand.
@EssCarGo 😂

Some of the replies are gold (these are just the ones I remember..maybe I should go left?) & also once again why we need the laughing emoji back!

I can also read upside-down.

So can I, and back to front.

This was a very useful skill until my manager realised I might be skilled in ways he didn't appreciate. It's still a useful skill at times, to be fair.

My new manager is left-handed, as is my sister. I suspect my father was - he wrote right-handed, but used most tools with his left hand. He was of an age where it might have been literally beaten out of him. I am right-handed, but it's not a strong dominance, and I do sometimes use my left hand. Even my left-handed writing is mostly legible, if not as free-flowing as my normal writing.

I'm learning languages and I do yoga with a fair few balancing postures, so I might be okay.