5 Ways In Which Learning a New Language Benefits Your Brain

If you’re thinking about taking up a new hobby, try learning a new language, as it turns out that knowing more than one language can seriously boost your brain power. And if you already speak more than one language, know that you’re in luck, as bilingualism (or multilingualism) comes with quite a few fascinating cognitive benefits. For instance, research shows that speaking two or more languages improves your concentration, makes you better at problem-solving, and can even protect you from cognitive decline.

There are 5 main cognitive benefits of knowing more than one language:

1. Prevents Cognitive Decline

One of the most outstanding benefits of speaking more than one language is the ability to retain a young brain and delay cognitive decline. More specifically, research shows that bilinguals are less likely to suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s, and they have a better chance of recovering after a stroke.

A study showed that, on average, bilinguals are diagnosed with dementia 3-4 years later than monolinguals, and a study found that Alzheimer’s patients who are bilingual are, on average, 5 years older than their monolingual counterparts.

So, much like engaging in other cognitively-challenging activities like solving crossword puzzles or practicing musical instruments, knowing a second language can train your brain to be more resilient to adverse age-related changes.

2. Bilinguals Can Maintain Focus Better

If maintaining focus and concentrating deeply on an important task can sometimes prove to be problematic, learning a new language could be helpful at training that skill. This is because people who know two and more languages have a more highly developed executive functioning, which involves the ability to focus on the important bits and ignore the unimportant ones.

Brain imaging studies have shown that bilinguals have a more active and highly-developed dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which is one of the areas in the front part of the brain responsible both for organizing language and executive function. So, by exercising your language skills, you’re actually improving your ability to concentrate because these two abilities share the same brain area.

3. Learning an Extra Language Improves Your Judgment

If you ever doubt your decisions and fear you might be biased against or towards a certain issue, try talking, reading or thinking about it in a different language to perceive it from a more rational and objective perspective. This exercise is useful, as there is research suggesting that people tend to think about a specific moral issue more objectively and less emotionally if they do so in a foreign language rather than their native one.

The authors theorize that this may be the case because some words have certain emotional connotations that trigger an emotional reaction, but if we think about the same issue in a foreign language, we lose this extra emotional layer and can judge the same issue more objectively.

4. Bilinguals are Better at Multitasking

To manage more than one task at the same time, it’s necessary for a person to switch easily from one task to another and to be able to ignore everything irrelevant to the tasks at hand. Now, it turns out that when speaking, bilinguals multitask constantly, as they always have to choose a word or phrase in the language they’re speaking in at the time of speech and not the other one they know.

By constantly juggling between languages, bilinguals actually train their multitasking abilities without even knowing it, and so they are, on average, much better than their monolingual counterparts at multitasking.

5. Speaking Two or More Languages Improves Your Problem Solving Skills

Getting the hang of a challenging task and finding new and creative ways to solve it requires immense mental strength, and it’s a skill that requires constant practice. Experiments have shown time and time that bilinguals are better at solving different types of challenging tasks because they are better at analyzing and have a superior working memory (a skill that allows you to take several things into account simultaneously when solving a problem).

Brain imaging studies also support this finding, pointing out that bilinguals aren’t simply better at different problem-solving tasks, but their brains work more efficiently when solving these tasks as well. And while we don't really know why learning a new language helps us think more clearly and organize our thoughts better, it's certain that knowing a second language is more useful to us than we might think.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                      FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                     https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

 

7 Exercises That Can Help Improve Your Brain Function!

Brain is just like other muscles in the body; stimulation of the brain cells on a continuous basis will lead to a well-functioning brain. In fact, exercising your brain through various brain exercises helps in forming new neural pathways inside it. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change and adapt when it is stimulated.
The various methods you can adopt to improve your mental health are:

1. Learn a musical instrument: Start taking music classes to learn an instrument such as guitar or piano as it helps in improving mental health. It also helps in delaying age related problems such as Alzheimer's disease.
2. Do math exercises in your head: Try figuring out various mathematical sums inside your head, as this will keep your brain sharp. It has also been known to improve intelligence quotient.
3. Try to Recall Past Events: When you try to recall past events, the section of the brain dealing with memory is stimulated and thus, leads to stronger neural connections.
4. Learning a New Language: Learning a new language is good for the brain as well because it helps in delaying the process of decline of cognitive functions. Chances of being affected by mental health disorders decrease significantly.
5. Aerobic Exercises: You should follow a regular exercise regimen consisting of aerobic exercises and cardiovascular exercises as they help in improving your blood circulation. Apart from keeping you fitter and lean, it also improves your overall well-being.
6. Improve your Hand-eye Coordination: Do activities such as painting, knitting or solving puzzles as they help in improving your hand eye coordination. It fine tunes your motor skills and keeps you mentally sharp.
7. Cooking: Learning to cook helps in activating various parts of the brain such as sight, smell and taste. This is related to different parts of the brain resulting in an overall development.
   

   THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

   FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                        https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                              
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DEMENTIA - TIPS TO DELAY OR AVOID

Most of us start worrying about dementia after retirement - and that may be too little, too late. Experts say that if you really want to ward off dementia, you need to start taking care of your brain in your 30s and 40s - or even earlier.     "More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to your brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuro-psychologist and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need to start as early as we can."    So what can you do to beef up your brain - and possibly ward off dementia?  Nussbaum, who recently gave a speech on the topic for the Winter Park (Fla.) Health Foundation, offers 20 tips that may help.
1.	Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers.  If you start  volunteering now, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you retire.
2.	Develop a hobby or two.  Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because you're trying something new and complex.
3.	Practise writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes everyday.  This will          exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those neurons.
4.	Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.  The people who danced three or four times a week showed 76 percent less incidence of dementia than those who danced only once a week or not at all.
5.	Need a hobby? Start gardening.  Researchers in New Zealand found that, of 1,000 people, those who gardened regularly were less likely to suffer from dementia!  Not only does gardening reduce stress, but gardeners use their brains to plan gardens; they use visual and spatial reasoning to lay out a garden.
6.	Buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day.  Walking daily can reduce the risk of dementia because cardiovascular health is important to maintain blood flow to the brain.
7.	Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas that process and store information.  Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates many areas of the brain as well.
8.	Start knitting. Using both hands works both sides of your brain.  And it's a stress reducer.
9.	Learn a new language. Whether it's a foreign language or sign language, you are working your brain by making it go back and forth between one language and the other.  A researcher in England found that being bilingual seemed to delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for four years.  And some research suggests that the earlier a child learns sign language, the higher his IQ - and people with high IQs are less likely to have dementia. So start them early.
10.	Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly.  Not only are you taxing your brain, you're socializing too.  Playing solo games, such as solitaire or online computer brain games can be helpful, but Nussbaum prefers games that encourage you to socialize too.
11.	Take classes throughout your lifetime.  Learning produces structural and chemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people live longer.  Brain researchers have found that people with advanced degrees live longer - and if they do have Alzheimer's, it often becomes apparent only in the very later stages of the disease.
12.	Listen to classical music.  A growing volume of research suggests that music may hard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres. Any kind of music may work, but there's some research that shows positive effects for classical music, though researchers don't understand why.
13.	Learn a musical instrument. It may be harder than it was when you were a kid, but you'll be developing a dormant part of your brain.
14.	Travel. When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on a different route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a new and complex environment.  A study of London taxi drivers found experienced drivers had larger brains because they have to store lots of information about locations and how to navigate there.
15.	Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system.  And people who attend a formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier lives.
16.	Learn to meditate.  It's important for your brain that you learn to shut out the stresses of everyday life.
17.	Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep and dementia.
18.	Eat more foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids: Salmon, sardines, tuna, ocean trout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts (which are higher in omega 3s than salmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and walnut oil are good sources too.
19.	Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables mop up some of the damage caused by free radicals, one of the leading killers of          brain cells.
20.	Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends.  You'll slow down, socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food than if you ate alone or on the go.

 "I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." ~ William Penn