# A Non-Obvious Way to Prolong Brain Youth Has Been Named

People who speak multiple languages, on average, age more slowly in terms of cognitive and behavioral indicators.

Scientists came to this conclusion after analyzing data from more than 86 thousand residents of Europe aged 51 to 90 years.

This is reported by The Conversation portal.

With age, many face deterioration of memory, attention and the ability to cope with daily tasks. At the same time, some maintain mental clarity until deep old age, while others lose it significantly earlier. Scientists increasingly cite multilingualism as one of the factors that can protect the brain.

When a person speaks two or more languages, all of them remain active in the brain. Each time during communication, the brain has to select the needed language and suppress the others.

Such constant "training" strengthens neural networks responsible for attention, control and task switching.

In the new study, scientists used machine learning methods to assess the so-called "biobehavioral age" of participants. The algorithm took into account memory, level of daily activity, education, mobility and comorbidities. The difference between this calculated age and the real one showed whether a person is aging faster or slower than normal.

The researchers then compared this data with the level of multilingualism in different countries. The analysis included 27 states. In countries such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Malta, proficiency in multiple languages is widespread. In the United Kingdom, Hungary and Romania, on the contrary, monolingualism is more common.

The result was unambiguous: residents of countries with high levels of multilingualism less frequently demonstrated signs of accelerated aging. Even knowledge of one additional language reduced the risk, and proficiency in two, three or more enhanced the effect. Scientists note a "dose-dependent" relationship: each new language provided additional protection.