Is being bilingual better for the brain?

Speaking more than one language obviously has its benefits, but recent studies suggest that it may in fact make you smarter. Psychologist Eileen Bialystock told national newspaper Le Figaro that “the benefits of bilingualism increase the more you speak them and the longer you speak them for.”

Such benefits include the ability to perform in a noisy environment and better ability to carry out complex tasks and thoughts.

But the most interesting discovery, according to Professor Bialystock, is the way that bilingualism can significantly prevent the chance of getting Alzheimer’s “by more than five years on average”.

It isn’t that bilingualism delays the onset of alzheimers, but that it enables people to develop skills to cope with early symptoms of memory loss.

Sarah Lloyd