Will learning a new language really prevent aging of the brain?

    Brain aging is probably the most worrisome aspect of aging that most people would be interested in preventing. It is known that memory declines sharply after menopause. I am personally going through this now and can attest to the truth of this statement. Besides having difficulties recalling names of movie stars and even friends and relatives! I used to have really good memory, and could reproduce 75% of a lecture; now I would be happy if I could remember just a couple of points!

    There are mountains of research and books on the topic of memory loss. In regards to the menopause-related decline, researchers have tried hormone replacement therapy to see if that would help. There is now a disclaimer on the hormone treatment, indicating that it will not help in the prevention of Alzheimer's. So, our quest to search for the miracle drug for eternal brain youth continues. 

   Medications aside, there are also lots of research and books on what we can do to keep our brain young and healthy. Some of the well known factors that can reduce the risks of dementia are:

1. Healthy and balanced diet 

2. Physical activity

3. Sufficient sleep

4. Social interaction

5. Community service

    In addition to doing all of the above, some researchers suggested that learning a new language or musical instruments will open up areas of our brain that have not been utilized, and in doing so help reduce the chance of dementia. The theory is that we only use about 10% of our brain capacity, so learning something completely new will form new pathways and connections in our brain, “opening” up new areas that have not been used, and hopefully reducing the risks for dementia. Since there is no harm in learning new things, I decided to learn Japanese. It was fun learning a new language and going back to school made me feel young, especially when I was interacting and learning with people half my age! Unfortunately, the pandemic changed the learning process for the whole world. The classes all became online and we no longer interacted like we used to. We attended class via Zoom, listened to the teacher explaining the grammar structure and went into little discussion “rooms” to practice with fellow students. Gone were the little conversations with fellow students. We hardly saw each other’s faces! Nobody showed their face online! I feel that I am not learning as well online as I was in person. I am still studying as hard as I was before the switch, and I am doing all the assigned homework. I understood the teacher perfectly during the lecture but once the video is off, I find that I can’t remember as well and kept having to refer to the textbook. So, what was it that was helping the brain? Was it really just learning a new language? Or was it the action of going to school, learning with a group of people and interacting with them and the teacher? 

    I am going to continue learning Japanese and possibly another language as well. It is fun learning for the sake of knowledge and self improvement! Speaking and understanding another language open up a whole new world and the ability to interact with people in their native language is something that I would love to do when we get to travel again. Furthermore, if learning a new language can help me reduce the risk for dementia, it would be a bonus! So, let’s explore the world and pick up a new language!