Can speaking multiple languages increase brain power in the elderly? It’s a fact that bilingual children have more brainpower than kids who grow up speaking only one language, and now neuroscientists say “yes.”
Bilingualism appears to protect against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study at York University found a later onset of dementia in bilingual patients than in monolingual patients with a delay of the disease by four to five years.
Regularly speaking two languages strengthens different parts of the brain through an exercise called “executive control,” which refers to complex cognitive skills like planning, working memory, mental flexibility, and many other important functions. These skills are the first to disappear as we age, but some activities (like eating well, exercising regularly, and doing word puzzles) have also been shown to stave off mental decline in old age. Bilingualism has a similar impact. Read more at http://hotword.dictionary.com/dementiaprotection/#9Hcjv6tbfszm1Q4D.99