Research from the Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin suggests that speaking multiple languages can improve cognitive functions such as memory and attention.
World news correspondent Adam Gilchrist reported on the study of more than 80,000 people, aged 51 to 90 across 27 European countries.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, found that people who only speak one language were over twice as likely to show early aging patterns.
This means a person’s biological age is higher than their chronological age, putting them at higher risk of age-related diseases.
Trinity College Dublin says the authors advocate for incorporating language learning into public health and educational policies to enhance cognitive resilience and reduce the societal burden of aging.
“It’s only a small difference, but they say it was a noticeable factor… You were more likely to maintain your grey matter for longer in later life,” says Gilchrist.
To listen to Gilchrist in conversation with 702’s Bongani Bingwa, click the audio player below (skip to 2.42 for this one):