Being Bilingual Can Help Prevent Alzheimer’s

Being bilingual has many social and psychological benefits. But did you know that it is also good for the brain? Researchers have discovered some very interesting cognitive effects of being bilingual. For example, speaking two languages ​​helps you to recover more quickly from a stroke. It can even delay the onset of dementia.

In fact, more and more studies are saying that speaking more than one language can delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. A Canadian study published last year in the journal Neuropsychologia showed that being able to speak two languages ​​changes the structure of the brain in ways that are linked to resistance to Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment.

Older studies also had some very interesting findings on the subject. One of them, published in 2013 in the journal Neurology , found that speaking two languages ​​could delay Alzheimer’s by at least 4.5 years.

The study’s researchers later suggested that being bilingual may contribute to the development of certain areas of the brain that control executive function and basic psychological processes, such as attention.

While these studies were only hypothetical, a later study used MRI data to examine the memory-associated brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment.

According to the researchers, this is the first study that not only assessed the areas of the brain that control language and cognition, but also established a link between these areas of the brain and memory in a group of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Being bilingual can counteract brain damage

The study analyzed:

• 34 multilingual participants with mild cognitive impairment.
• 34 monolingual participants with mild cognitive impairment.
• 13 multilingual participants with Alzheimer’s disease.
• 13 monolingual participants with Alzheimer’s disease.

It is important to note that the researchers studied the medial temporal lobe, which plays a huge role in the formation of memories. They also studied the frontal regions of the brain.

The researchers discovered that the multilingual participants in both groups had thicker cortexes in the brain areas related to cognitive control and language. The results were similar in Native Canadian participants with mild cognitive impairment, who ruled out immigration as a potentially complicating factor.

This study thus supports the hypothesis that speaking two languages ​​is a protective factor and can increase cortical thickness and the density of the gray matter. It also demonstrates the structural differences found in multilingual patients with Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment.

The results also contribute to research indicating that speaking more than one language is a lifestyle factor that improves the cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is like a drawer where your brain stores its ability to meet challenges by using its knowledge of alternative ways to perform a task.

There are many benefits to being bilingual. Below we look at what they are so you can get a better understanding of why speaking more than one language is important for brain function.

The cognitive benefits of being bilingual

• Being bilingual helps prevent dementia. Bilingual adults with Alzheimer’s spend twice as much time developing symptoms as their monolingual peers. The mean age of onset of dementia symptoms in monolingual adults is 71.4, while the mean age of onset of symptoms in bilingual adults is 75.5.

• Being bilingual helps you concentrate on tasks. Bilingual people concentrate better than monolingual people. They are better at identifying relevant information.
• Being bilingual improves cognitive abilities. Bilingual people are sharper and their brains are more attentive and active, even when using only one language.
• Being bilingual increases the gray matter. Gray matter is responsible for language processing, memory storage and attention. Bilingual people have denser gray matter than their monolingual peers.
• Being bilingual improves your memory. Learning a foreign language involves remembering grammatical rules and vocabulary. This mental exercise improves overall memory. Therefore, bilingual people are better at remembering lists and sequences.
• Being bilingual improves the decision-making process. Bilingual people tend to make more rational decisions. They are also more confident in themselves and their decisions after thinking about their second language.

• Being bilingual improves concentration in your native language. When you learn another language, you focus on grammar and sentence structure. This means that you tend to be more aware of language in general. Learning a foreign language makes people better communicators, editors and writers.

Start learning another language today!

Most people know that being able to speak two languages ​​looks good on a resume and can help when traveling to a foreign country. But the benefits of speaking more than one language are about far more than that. With all the research showing the benefits of learning another language, there is no doubt that it is worth a try. If you are not already bilingual, what are you waiting for?