Bilingual? You Have A Big Health Advantage

Being able to speak more than one language may delay the onset of three types of dementias by more than four years, suggests recent research.

In a study of 648 seniors in India who had been diagnosed with dementia, those who spoke two languages had a later onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive decline. Even seniors who were illiterate benefited from having these language skills, according to the study in the journal Neurology.

Speaking more than one language may lead to better development of the brain areas that handle executive functions and attention tasks, say the researchers.