This Skill May Keep Your Brain Younger. Here’s How to Learn It

Learning a new language is good for your brain.

Being able to speak and understand another tongue offers a form of mental stimulation, which keeps the brain active and sharp as we get older. In fact, researchers have found thatbeing multilingual may delay dementia diagnoses and slow down how fast the brain ages.

Unlike, say, music that someone may practice a few hours a day, the mental stimulation from language is “intense and constant,” said Ellen Bialystok, adistinguished research professor emeritus of psychology at York University in Canada, who has studied the effects of languages on the brain for more than five decades.

Knowing more than one language — and practicing it often — is akin to constantly strength-training your brain. Being multilingualchanges how your brain functions and how it’s structured.

“If you are constantly using your brain for difficult, engaging and stimulating challenges, your brain will be healthier,” Bialystok said. “And learning a language is hard, and that makes it worthwhile.”

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