Why Are Left-Handed People Better at Sport?

Throughout sporting history, it has long been established that left-handed people appear to have an advantage over their right-handed competitors. But the reasons for this have remained a mystery, until recently. Previously held beliefs have centred on one premise. In nature, just as predators evolve to kill the majority of their prey, soldiers adapt to overcome their most common assailant - the right-handed fighter.

This is because, as the majority of people are right-handed, defeating them forms patterns in the brain. Therefore, all skills and survival behaviour would derive from fighting against right-handed opponents. However, this would also lead to the element of surprise when a left-handed person entered the battle. In fact, one of the most enterprising and talented leaders of all time was Alexander the Great, who was reportedly left-handed.

Scientific reasons for left-handed advantages

Recent studies have revealed a more scientific reason for left-handed people to have an advantage, when regarding sporting prowess. Two French researchers tested left-handed superiority in the years 2001 and 2004. Charlotte Faurie and Michel Raymond examined areas with a high murder rate and the correlating percentage of left-handed citizens. They found there were high levels of left-handed people in the most violent places, with some numbers rising to 27%.

At the Australian National University, participants were tested on their reaction times using various methods. The tests were designed to measure the transfer time between two sides of the brain.

When the right-handed participants were tested, they revealed a strong correlation between how quickly information was transferred across the left and right sides of the brain. But when the tests were repeated on the left-handed volunteers, they found a big difference. As left-handers typically used their left-hand brain more often, they were much faster at processing information across the two sides of the brain.

Study leader Dr Nick Cherbuin concluded that people with left-hands have more symmetrical brains, which are not only larger, but has more efficient connections between the two sides.

A conclusion that chartered psychologist, Dr Steve Williams agrees with: “This seems to go with evidence that left-handers use both sides of the brain for language - that they are more bicerebral,” he said. Dr Williams proposed that as left-handed people have to use both sides of their brain, they typically get more efficient at what they are doing.

Regarding sport, he agreed that if a person is left-handed, so this advantage would also transfer to their feet: “In football, being able to shoot with either foot is a huge asset - each foot like each hand is under opposite-side control.”

But I’m not left-handed!

If you’re not left handed, how can you get the edge? If you thinking sports drinks might be the answer, read our latest blog: Do Sports Drinks Actually Work?