Contents:
- Medical Video: The benefits of a bilingual brain - Mia Nacamulli
- What happens when the brain learns a new language?
- The benefits of learning a foreign language to reduce the risk of dementia
- Another way that can be done to improve brain function
Medical Video: The benefits of a bilingual brain - Mia Nacamulli
Humans are born with language instincts. Our brain is naturally bound to language. That is, you can learn any foreign language, at any time. Well, a study reveals that people who are able to master more than one foreign language are more immune to the risk of senility in old age.See the explanation in this article.
What happens when the brain learns a new language?
Research suggests that learning foreign languages improves brain function. Continuous language skills involve both parts of the brain: the left brain which processes logic (to understand and remember) and also the right brain which is active in emotional and social processes (to associate new vocabulary with visual memory).
Learning a foreign language can also increase the size of your brain. Through a study in Sweden, the MRI scan of the brain showed a part of the hippocampus and cerebral area of the cortex in bilingual people who were larger than those who could only speak one language. The area of the brain that grows is related to which part of the brain is active when learning languages.
People who speak more than one language fluently have better memories and are more cognitively creative and mentally flexible than monolingual. Studies in Canada even report that bilingual people have brain cognitive acuity until the following years.
Other researchers have even found that adults who are good at mastering two languages have a focus on attention and concentration better than those who only speak one language, regardless of whether they already know the second language in childhood, adolescence, or new when they are adults.
The benefits of learning a foreign language to reduce the risk of dementia
The benefits of increasing brain cognitive function from learning a foreign language are reported to keep you from the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia. Both are degenerative diseases characterized by senility due to decreased brain cognitive function.
This is also evidenced by a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, which found that bilingual adults who are active in using foreign languages regularly have better multitasking skills than people who only speak one language.The study also found that learning a foreign language can slow the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms for 4-5 years longer than people who can only speak one language. Dementia can occur if Alzheimer's continues to be left untreated.
Another study from the Center for Cognitive Aging at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland also found something similar. In his research, researchers found that people who master more than one language have better cognitive abilities than those who only speak one language.
This happens because learning and speaking a foreign language will keep your memory sharp so that you can maintain brain function to fight aging, such as senility. Even the researchers said that the benefits did not only occur when they were young. The reason is, adults who are just learning a foreign language will also feel the benefits.
Well, that's why it's never too late to learn a new language, to improve the functioning of your brain.
Another way that can be done to improve brain function
Besides learning foreign languages, there are several other ways you can improve brain function so that you can prevent the risk of early dementia.
- Physical activity. Physical activity makes your brain work optimally by producing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein which helps increase blood flow to the brain. This can prevent damage to brain cells so that it can reduce the risk of stroke and help in the formation of new brain cells.
- Get enough sleep. The brain needs rest to store and process memories and things that have been well studied. Sleep is one of the best ways to rest your brain. That is why, lack of sleep will reduce brain function to think and process information.
- Pay attention to nutritional intake. The brain is an organ that needs the most energy to carry out its functions properly. Paying attention to the best nutritional intake will provide enough energy for the brain to carry out its functions optimally.
