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Over 60 percent of the world’s population is bilingual, and it’s long been known the capacity to understand two or more languages can help older adults maintain healthy brain function and stave off dementia.. With more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, the ability to speak two or more languages isn’t just a party trick… it can be a lifesaver.
A 2013 study published in Neurology determined bilingualism could delay onset of dementia by almost 5 years. The study’s authors discovered the bilingual benefit occurs regardless of education, sex or even literacy.Moreover, because bilingual brains are accustomed to understanding more than one language, they are well equipped to manage degeneration and neuron loss by utilizing alternative ways to function.
“After years of daily practice managing interference between two languages, bilinguals become experts at selecting relevant information and ignoring information that can distract from a task,” explains Dr. Ana Inés Ansaldo, a researcher at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.
“In this case, bilinguals showed higher connectivity between visual processing areas located at the back of the brain,” she writes in summary of her research on the differences in brain function between bilingual and monolingual seniors.
“Data indicate[s] that the bilingual brain is more efficient and economical, as it recruits fewer regions and only specialized regions.”
Multilingual Multitasking
Dr. Ansaldo’s research identified two cognitive benefits associated with bilingualism. While monolingual seniors use diverse brain areas when completing cognitive tasks, bilingual adults save resources through centralized and specialized functional connections. Additionally, when completing cognitive tasks bilingual seniors use less of the brain’s frontal regions, which are more vulnerable to aging. Dr. Ansaldo theorizes these benefits are what allow bilingual seniors to stave off dementia and other signs of cognitive aging.
“We have observed that bilingualism has a concrete impact on brain function and that this may have a positive impact on cognitive aging,” says Ansaldo. “We now need to study how this function translates to daily life, for example, when concentrating on one source of information instead of another, which is something we have to do every day.”
“We have yet to discover all the benefits of bilingualism,” she concludes.
Adult Ed
While bingo will always be a mainstay, many senior living communities have expanded their activities offerings to include everything from fencing to computer programming. Among many providers, language classes are a popular choice. And because studies continue to demonstrate that new language acquisition improves brain function, including multitasking and decision-making, many senior care providers are adding French, Spanish and even sign language to their lineup.
The [French] language is beautiful,” Evanston, IL retiree Randy Balla, 63 told the New York Times during a recent discussion of language immersion programs for seniors.
“It can open up your world.”
