• Log in with Facebook Log in with Twitter Log In with Google      Sign In    
  • Create Account
  LongeCity
              Advocacy & Research for Unlimited Lifespans

Photo
- - - - -

Non dominant hand training for overall cognition?

training cognition non dominant hand

  • Please log in to reply
11 replies to this topic

#1 Barfly

  • Guest
  • 65 posts
  • 3
  • Location:Croatia

Posted 30 January 2014 - 11:24 AM


In the last couple of years I have stumbled on numerous books, articles and self development programs that proposed that non dominant hand training may have far reaching cognitive benefits.

Some examples:

http://www.dailymail...lf-control.html

-here it is proposed that non dominant hand training improves self control and impulsive behavior


In book "Whole brain power " author Lavery claims that motor-skill development of both right and left hands are directly linked to development in the left and right hemispheres of the brain and proposes that training the non dominant hand leads to many benefits like: increased creativity, better coordination, concentration, clarity of thinking, better mood etc

However, the book is mostly comprised of anecdotes and really slim on studies, the only one I can recall from the book is the well known study where juggling was shown to increase white matter in the brain in a month of practicing or so.

I have tried googling some studies on the matter but found only this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20809062

Their conclusion: These results indicate that shaping exercises, but not general activity training, increase dexterity of the trained non-dominant hand in parallel with a shift of location of active transcranial magnetic stimulation positions. Shifts of active cortical areas might be important for the interpretation of brain plasticity in common behavioural tasks.

Tbh I am not even sure what that conclusion means in practice lol, but thats all I could find.

So, do you think non dominant hand training might be a useful area to pursue general self improvement or is this mostly wishful thinking?

Thanks

#2 Babychris

  • Guest
  • 466 posts
  • -31
  • Location:Paris

Posted 30 January 2014 - 01:21 PM

Yeah it seem a funny way to enhance brain abilty by the way I've just wrote this message with the left hand it's really harder notably on the right side of my keyboard

sponsored ad

  • Advert
Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for BRAIN HEALTH to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

#3 brainslugged

  • Guest
  • 305 posts
  • 39
  • Location:Georgia, US
  • NO

Posted 30 January 2014 - 07:17 PM

That's neat. I would like to try it.

Even if it doesn't increase cognition, being more ambidextrous would have a lot of benefit.

BTW, the full article of the pubmed abstract can be found here for free (it is linked to on pubmed, but just wanted to point it out). It describes the training as:

Hand training
Hand training was initiated within 5 min after the cortical mapping
and dexterity testing, either as shaping (group A) or as general ac-
tivity training (group B). The shaping consisted of 3 standardized
exercises with progressively increasing difficulty in small steps: (i)
to put coins through a slot (10 coins/trial × 5 followed by 15 coins/
trial × 5), (ii) to turn playing-cards over (10 cards/trial × 5 followed
by 15 cards/trial × 5), and (iii) to put rubber bands around an oval can
(7 rubber bands/trial × 5 followed by 10 rubber bands/trial × 5). Each
shaping exercise included verbal and written feedback (time of task
performance). The general activity training consisted of 3 tasks: (i) to
lay and clear a table once for 4 persons (including table-mats, glasses,
plates, knives, forks, spoons, serviettes and candles in approximately
7 min), (ii) to wipe the table with a damp duster (in approximately 5
min) and (iii) to draw lines between dots to form a figure on a paper
(in approximately 9 min).
The subjects performed the hand training with the non-dominant
hand for 25 min (including 1 min rests between the tasks) and simul-
taneously wore a mitt (constraint) on the dominant hand to avoid com-
pensatory movements. The physiotherapist (CB) supervising the hand
training had extensive experience of CIMT in patients with stroke.


Seems like something we could easily do at home.
  • like x 1

#4 Nootriment.com

  • Guest
  • 11 posts
  • 202
  • Location:Nootriment.com

Posted 31 January 2014 - 12:34 AM

I've heard this mentioned a lot in pop psychology, but cool to see an actual paper on it. www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html has some suggested exercises as well.
  • like x 1

#5 cylack

  • Guest
  • 69 posts
  • 5
  • Location:Orlando, FL

Posted 31 January 2014 - 02:45 AM

I had just started a thread on the same topic here a few days ago: http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/68364-hammer-exercises-to-lateralize-the-brain/

I read Lavery's book and have been doing the hammer drills.

#6 Barfly

  • Topic Starter
  • Guest
  • 65 posts
  • 3
  • Location:Croatia

Posted 31 January 2014 - 11:38 AM

I had just started a thread on the same topic here a few days ago: http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/68364-hammer-exercises-to-lateralize-the-brain/

I read Lavery's book and have been doing the hammer drills.



Ah, cool, I also started the hammer drills and mirror writing with left hand too - I must admit left hand writing is the toughest mental exercise I did so far, dual and back doesn't even come close as my brain was screaming every second of the process.

Lets just hope that process has some transferable benefits besides only getting better at writing in reverse with my left hand :)

Did you notice any benefits so far from doing such practice?

#7 knockout_mice

  • Guest
  • 51 posts
  • 35
  • Location:NMDA receptor

Posted 31 January 2014 - 03:32 PM

Learning speed typing could work as well.

#8 treanos

  • Guest
  • 6 posts
  • 1
  • Location:u.s

Posted 31 January 2014 - 04:38 PM

i dont think its work cause i use my left hadn now for some other "activities" :)
  • Cheerful x 1

#9 MangekyōPeter

  • Guest
  • 171 posts
  • 17
  • Location:Latvian Alps

Posted 31 January 2014 - 05:49 PM

i dont think its work cause i use my left hadn now for some other "activities" :)


I definitely feel like someone else is touching violating me when engaging in such activities with my non-dominant hand, as do most. :D

#10 macropsia

  • Guest
  • 97 posts
  • 6
  • Location:Michigan
  • NO

Posted 31 January 2014 - 05:55 PM

For a summer I did all of my language review lessons with my non-dominant hand. There were some notable increases in dexterity that might or might not have persisted; my non-dominant handwriting is still pretty good, though I don't have the speed or precision I had when I was practicing frequently.
I started writing the alphabet and some foreign writing systems backward and forward, then started copying random literature (the pieces I used still seem imprinted with a higher ''valence', same with the Hebrew and Latin I was doing at the time.
The 'effect' is definitely palpable; at times I felt as if the 'seat' or center of my consciousness had moved leftward a few inches, as inexplicable as that sounds.

It was definitely interesting, though not necessarily useful in any way I could put my finger on. I will probably resume at some point.

#11 cylack

  • Guest
  • 69 posts
  • 5
  • Location:Orlando, FL

Posted 31 January 2014 - 06:45 PM

I haven't noticed any great improvements in mental clarity doing these hammer exercises other than being a stress reliever, but I probably don't do enough of them. I do about 100 bounces of the golf ball with each hand. Recently though I started using 2 hammers and try to bounce the golf ball back and forth, which is a lot harder to do than just bouncing it up and down with one hand. I'm strapped for time right now studying for a big licensing exam, but once I have more time my goal is to ramp these exercises up.

Lavery makes a lot of big claims such as increased myelination with doing these exercises and he gives as case reports some anecdotal examples. I wish there was some real research backing all this, it would be a cheap study to do.
  • like x 1

sponsored ad

  • Advert
Click HERE to rent this advertising spot for BRAIN HEALTH to support LongeCity (this will replace the google ad above).

#12 kurdishfella

  • Guest
  • 2,397 posts
  • -71
  • Location:russia
  • NO

Posted 15 February 2021 - 04:28 AM

I suffer from severe neurodegeneration. My vision in my right eye is bad I can not focus with it unless I try really hard. I am right handed (and feted?) but my whole right side of the body seems lacking as opposed to my left side which seems more connected to my brain (half side of brain?), spine etc the nerves or whatever seems naturally stronger there for some reason, is the left side dominant on all people? 







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: training, cognition, non dominant hand

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users