Did you know that it is estimated that half of the world’s population is bilingual? That’s pretty cool! In fact, being bilingual can actually help people decrease their risk of age related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, and more. Knowing a language can be considered environmental enrichment. Environmental enrichment are the things around you that stimulate your brain in a positive way. Some people do puzzles, play video games, play music, or even reading a book. Each person is different, but each of these things can help your brain later in life.
For someone who is bilingual, meaning they can speak two languages, they are able to use different parts of their brain more frequently. In fact, people who are bilingual can hear something in their primary language, but repeat it in their second language with hardly missing a beat. It’s almost as if a switch is being turned on and it stays on. This activation is caused by upregulated or downregulated genes that help produce these neuronal connections. This increases a person’s cognitive reserve decreasing age related illnesses.
Some studies conducted between monolingual and bilingual humans have shown interesting data. People who are bilingual are better able to focus on a task when there are environmental distractions, for monolinguals it takes them more time to focus. Some researchers think this is due to the switching between languages and the focus and attention need to do this, which allows them to better focus on tasks. Through learning a language at a young age, when they become adults they typically have more grey and white matter in their brain.
Another study that looked at monolingual and bilingual humans with Alzheimer’s actually found that on average, bilinguals showed symptoms 5 years after monolinguals. However, after examination through autopsies, it was found that bilinguals showed more brain damage. This is quite an interesting find as it means that due to the cognitive reserve found in bilinguals, they are better able to adapt to brain damage through re-wiring. As mentioned before, bilinguals are better able to use different parts of their brain to accomplish a task.
So, if you take anything away from this, take away that you should continue environmental stimulation but also think about picking up a new language or teaching younger generations a new language. First, it is easier to learn a language at a young age, but they will also develop a larger white and grey matter which will help protect them against age related diseases.
