Do you talk with your hands? Do you remember being scolded by your parents because you talked with your hands?

As with playing with our food or talking back to elders, talking with our hands rank among the highest in the “NO NO” of social etiquettes. As children, we were constantly reminded by our parents never to talk with our hands. However, science is rewriting what we used to believe as non acceptable social behavior.

According to a new study, talking with our hand is actually beneficial. This makes thinking easier. A research conducted by the University of Chicago revealed that people who moved their hands more frequently while talking have higher retentive memory compared with those who kept their hands still.

Researchers at the University of Chicago explained that gesturing while speaking seems to make speech less of an effort and which may leave more mental resources available for memory.

Now, you can tell yourself its ok to use your hands. It’s one way of improving your memory.