Maintaining optimal brain function and youthful vigor for as long as possible is the ultimate goal. However, as we age, the brain's cognitive function may decline. Fortunately, there is a very promising tool that can help maintain the brain's function, leading to more independent living, especially in later stages of life.
Increasing our cognitive health span is possible by increasing the "cognitive reserve". Think of cognitive reserve as a side job in addition to your regular career. It’s like having a hobby that you enjoy, and that helps you grow your savings account. For instance, you may perform with a music band on weekends, earning a little bit of money, but saving it in a bank account without touching the money. When you retire, you check that bank account and are surprised to find how much money you have saved over the years!
In the same way, our brain can also benefit from the same strategy of building cognitive reserve. Learning new skills, such as a new language, how to play chess, or how to play a musical instrument, contributes to the development of cognitive reserve. This could prove helpful, just like the side money saved from playing in a music band on the weekend, at later stages of life (like when you are retired and may be out of enough funds).
Research has shown that bilingual individuals who have Alzheimer's disease are able to live independently for an average of 5 years longer than their monolingual counterparts. Even though the deterioration of brain cells, as captured by fMRI, appears to be similar between the two groups, bilingual individuals may have utilized their cognitive reserve, which allowed them to function normally for those additional 5 years. This cognitive reserve is similar to someone who has run out of money from their pensions and begins to tap into the reserved funds they set aside from their hobby. This extra time can have a significant impact, especially during the later years of life.
If learning a new language is not your thing, that's totally fine! To benefit from the cognitive reserve, promoting a longer health-span, and perhaps life span, you do not need to focus only on language learning. Learning any other task, which requires cognitive processing could still be helpful with promoting health-span, and living longer, healthier, and with better cognitive function. Other cognitive tasks could be learning how to play a musical instrument, a trade skill, and any other cognitive task. Remember, the more you learn, the more cognitive reserve you can acquire which could help your cognitive function later in life, and help to live a healthier, independent life at older ages. Also remember that just like banking investment, learning also has a compounding factor. When you learn a new skill, learning another related skill becomes easier. For instance, learning French may make it easier to learn Spanish, and then Italian, and so on. Similarly, if you learn how to play the guitar, it will become easier for you to learn how to play other instruments as well.
Related Scientific findings:
STERN Y. What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2002;8(3):448-460. doi:10.1017/S1355617702813248
Barulli, D., & Stern, Y. (2013). Efficiency, capacity, compensation, maintenance, plasticity: emerging concepts in cognitive reserve. Trends in cognitive sciences, 17(10), 502–509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.08.012
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: consequences for mind and brain. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(4), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001
Perani, D., & Abutalebi, J. (2015). Bilingualism, dementia, cognitive and neural reserve. Current opinion in neurology, 28(6), 618–625. https://doi.org/10.1097/WCO.0000000000000267
Park, D. C., & Bischof, G. N. (2013). The aging mind: neuroplasticity in response to cognitive training. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 15(1), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2013.15.1/dpark
Valenzuela, M., & Sachdev, P. (2009). Can cognitive exercise prevent the onset of dementia? Systematic review of randomized clinical trials with longitudinal follow-up. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(3), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181953b57
Disclaimer
This information is provided for general use only and to raise awareness about brain health and longevity. Before implementing any of the recommendations provided here, please review them with your healthcare provider. Not all recommendations may be suitable for everyone.