How Learning Languages May Help Delay Dementia

The World Health Organization reports that there are almost 55 million people worldwide with dementia, a progressive condition that affects memory and behavior, and that number is steadily increasing. The disease creates a huge strain on those who suffer from it, their families and caregivers, and society, costing an estimated $1313 billion per year in 2019 in the U.S. alone.

WHO reports that more research is needed to determine what causes it in order to develop better treatments. However, there are ways you can delay dementia including learning new languages.

Research continues for patient care

A molecule in green tea was discovered in 2022 that breaks apart the tangles of the protein tau, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the National Institute of Aging.

Current studies are researching whether speaking more than one language, playing puzzles and hidden object games, and listening to music are activities helpful in delaying or decreasing the risk of dementia.

• The American Academy of Neurology published the results of a study that found that people speaking two languages live almost five years longer than those who speak only one language.
• McGill University neuroscientist Veronique Bohbot’s studies show that using spatial memory on a regular basis may stimulate the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory and learning, and helps it to stay healthy as people age.
• A large Swedish study found that playing music, which is a type of language, stimulates the brain enough to delay dementia.

How learning languages improves cognition

Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in India’s Suvarna Alladi, DM, says studies of people who speak more than one language are showing it delays dementia four and a half years longer than in people who only speak one language. Researchers think that speaking more than one language develops the areas of the brain that control executive functions, memory, and attention and that keeping these areas strong and active by speaking multiple languages helps delay dementia.

Other activities you can do to help delay dementia

1. Playing Games

Researchers like Switzerland’s University of Geneva cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier and the University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn Green study the effects of playing games on brain function. Researchers at Michigan State University found that playing computer video games increases creativity in children, and report that intense involvement in action games stimulates the brain’s neural circuits. Playing video games, computer games, or card and board games is not only fun but may provide healthy stimulation that protects against dementia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

2. Playing Music

Director of the Study of Dementia in Swedish Twins, Margaret Gatz, reports that studies of the onset of dementia in twins show that an active and engaged lifestyle helps protect against dementia. She explains that playing music is beneficial because it’s something that people can continue after retirement that keeps their brains active and engaged.

Musicians have the advantage of using two styles of language–verbal and musical, and studies are beginning to show that the additional stimulation in the hippocampus for processing languages delays dementia. Learning to play an instrument or playing music as you age are enjoyable and healthy activities that promote healthy brain functions.

What types of activities do you participate in to delay dementia? Please leave a comment below.