Maintaining a “Mental Edge”

“Being bilingual helps prevent people from losing their ‘mental edge’ as they age,” says , York University psychologist Ellen Bialystok tested the cognitive functions of 104 adults aged 30 to 59 and of 50 adults aged 60 to 88, all of whom had similar education and income levels. In each age group, half the participants were bilingual. Each person was asked to complete a simple task with two competing options while his reaction time was measured. “Bilinguals were faster on the test than monolinguals,” notes the newspaper. According to Bialystok, bilingual people are always presented with two language options, and their brain must decide the right language to speak in reply. “Over time, these mental gymnastics protect the brain by hindering the natural slowdown of the executive processes that occurs with age.”