Paying attention in Spanish class might have earned you more than being able to get around that one time you went to Mexico. According to a new study from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, people who are bilingual are more likely to be mentally alert in old age.
Based on tests of 853 English speakers in the U.K., the new findings suggest that those who are conversant in a second language helped to slow the decline of thinking skills as they aged.
The study examined the standardized intelligence tests of a group who were first examined at 11-years old and re-administered the exams at the age of 73. The study participants had been tested throughout their lives on various physical and mental functions including reasoning, memory, fitness and eyesight.
Researchers found that those who spoke two or more languages displayed significantly better thinking skills than what was predicted for them based on their child IQ tests. Results showed that there was even a marked cognitive improvement in those who learned another language in adulthood. Languages are said to be more difficult to learn and retain when not learned at an early age.
“These findings are of considerable practical relevance. Millions of people around the world acquire their second language in later life,” said study researcher Thomas Bak, from the Center for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology. “Our study shows that bilingualism, even when acquired in adulthood, may provide a small benefit to the aging brain.”
So if you don’t know any other languages yet, there’s still time! Take a class, get that Rosetta Stone, or start talking to your neighbor down the hall who knows a different language. It could make a difference in your mental fitness later.