Is learning a foreign language the best way to beat dementia?

Some studies suggest one of the best ways to protect against brain-wasting dementia is to learn a second language.

The secret is that being bilingual seems to increase the brain’s cognitive reserve – its processing capacity.

Having a larger cognitive reserve is thought to protect the brain against the damage that can be caused by dementia.

Research suggests mastering another language can, at the very least, delay the onset of dementia symptoms by nearly five years.

A major 2017 study, ca rried out in Italy, looked at the population of parts of northern Italy, where many people are fluent in German as well as Italian. They compared 45 bilingual adults with a similar number who only spoke Italian and found those speaking two languages performed significantly better on memory and thinking tests.

Scientists think it’s not necessarily the case that these people are less likely to develop dementia but that their brains are better equipped to deal with it when they do.

But the benefits are only seen if two languages are used on a daily basis – not just during occasional trips abroad.

Alzheimer’s Research UK said of the study: “It’s yet more evidence that being bilingual throughout life could increase our cognitive reserve, helping to delay the onset of symptoms as diseases like Alzheimer’s develop.”

But it means British people overcoming their natural resistance to acquiring foreign language skills. A recent European Commission survey found we are the worst in Europe for doing so, with little over a third of us able to speak anything other than English.

In the Netherlands, Lithuania, Slovenia and Sweden, well over 90% of the population are fluent in at least one other language.