Why use a left-handed mouse if you are right-handed?

Why should you operate the mouse with your left hand, even if you are right-handed?

Let's start with some figures

Statistically, only 10 to 15% of the population is left-handed, with the average for men being 10% higher than for women. Why would the right-handed population benefit from a left-handed mouse?

Left- and right-handedness is a phenomenon that has long preoccupied neurologists and remains one of the greatest mysteries of neurology. Most of us decide which hand we prefer before we reach the age of four. As the percentages above indicate, the vast majority prefer to use their right hand. After the preference for right, the majority of the rest have a preference for left. The small number of people who have no preference for left or right (less than 1%) are ambidextrous. This is called 'ambidexterity', and no, it is not a scary disease as the name might suggest, but rather something 'handy'.

We still know very little about this phenomenon, but what we do know about left-handed mice is:

1. It reduces the risk of RSI-related complaints.

Because the right hand of a right-handed person is already used so often, especially if the person spends a lot of time at the computer, it is not unlikely that RSI-related complaints will develop.
The right hand is used intensively to perform the same types of movements continuously, such as writing, reaching for documents on your desk or turning pages. On top of that, there is the use of the mouse, all movements that are often repeated throughout the day. By operating the mouse with your left hand, you can already reduce one of those factors.

2. Your right hand is more often 'injured'

Because your right hand is dominant, it is used more often, which also means that your reflexes are probably faster in this hand. So you usually catch yourself with your right hand first when you fall. In addition, serious office injuries such as the famous paper cut are most common on the dominant hand. If you want to maintain your productivity, it is wise to get used to using the mouse with your left hand.

3. Practise your ambidexterity (two-handedness)

Who among you can juggle?
Why, when you have two hands, do you usually only use one? By operating your mouse with your left hand, you practise precise movements with your non-dominant hand. For most left-handed people, it is normal to perform complex and precise tasks with their right hand, as the whole world is set up for right-handed use. They are therefore well practised in using their non-dominant hand. For right-handed people, practising with the left hand can also have advantages outside the office. It's always difficult at first, but you'll get used to it faster than you think.

4. You will work faster

Efficiency, baby!
In addition to freeing up your right hand to perform all kinds of other tasks, you will automatically start using the shortcut keys on your keyboard more. Click here to see which shortcut keys are available. Or if you work on a Mac, you can look here. Using shortcut keys makes you work much more efficiently. This increase in efficiency often also saves time.

6. Take notes and continue working at the same time

By using your left mouse button, you can use the mouse while entering numbers. This also frees up your right hand to use frequently used functions on the keyboard, such as the backspace, delete, enter and cursor keys.

7. Others do not work with your computer

Do you hate it when you ask your colleagues how to do that one function on your computer and they immediately take your mouse and keyboard? That colleague who pushes you aside to confiscate your mouse and keyboard so he can 'demonstrate' the trick, after which you still don't know how to do it because you didn't do it yourself.

Or has your office switched to flexible workspaces, but you still want to keep that one spot next to the window? Then set up your computer for a left-handed person; this often deters most right-handed people from choosing that spot to work. Instead of 85%-90% of your colleagues, you now only have to compete with 10%-15% of them.

8. 'Because science'

If you are not yet convinced of the advantages of using a left-handed mouse, here is a scientific article that may persuade you to give it a try for a month.

8.1 Brain training?

We have known for some time that the dominant hand is related to asymmetry in the brain. The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and vice versa. For most of us, language-related functions are also controlled in the left hemisphere. In most cases, this determines which hemisphere and therefore which hand is dominant. People who do not naturally have a preference for one hand usually suffer from poorer cognitive functions than people who do have a naturally dominant hand. This is mainly in the areas of short- and long-term memory, logic and arithmetic. This is most likely because the brain has not had the opportunity to specialise in the tasks it is good at.

There is no hard evidence (yet) that exercising your non-dominant brain hemisphere has positive or negative consequences. However, many scientists speculate that there may be a potential gain in thinking ability when a right-handed person trains their left hand and vice versa.

8.2 Better posture

For example, an American study asked participants to work with the mouse on the left side of the keyboard for a month. The volunteers who took part indicated that getting used to the change was easier than expected. It even turned out that the movements at the desk were generally smaller and that the posture of the test subjects improved significantly because they did not have to reach so far for the mouse (the study was conducted with a standard 100% keyboard with arrow keys and a numpad on the right-hand side).

After the study, it turned out that of the total of 27 people who participated, 16 continued to work with the mouse on the left. Link to study.

9. You have an interesting conversation at the coffee machine

Your colleagues will soon notice that you, as a right-handed person, are using a left-handed mouse. You will be asked questions about this, so now you can talk about your little experiment instead of Gerda the secretary's trip to the zoo with her grandchildren.