Learning another language may be one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy

Learning a new language may be one of the most effective ways to maintain brain health and potentially delay the onset of dementia. Scientists have found that bilingual individuals exhibit stronger cognitive resilience, with some large-scale studies indicating a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease an average of 4–5 years later in bilinguals compared to monolinguals, even when accounting for education and lifestyle. This suggests that the mental exercise of switching between languages strengthens neural networks. Further research presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum in 2026 even suggested that people who speak multiple languages might have brains that appear years younger. For instance, speaking two languages could make a brain appear six years younger, while speaking four languages might make it appear up to 13 years younger. However, researchers caution that other factors like lifestyle and social engagement might also play a role in these observed benefits.