Study Links Multilingualism to Slower Brain Aging in Adults

Study Links Multilingualism to Slower Brain Aging in Adults
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A large European study has found that adults who speak more than one language may experience slower brain aging and greater cognitive resilience, a development Khaama Press reported. The research analyzed nearly 80,000 adults from 27 European countries and concluded that multilingual individuals demonstrated stronger brain adaptability compared with monolingual speakers.

The findings, published in Nature, indicate that people who use multiple languages are less vulnerable to accelerated cognitive decline, while those who speak only one language showed signs of faster brain aging.

Co-author Augustin Ibáñez, a neuroscientist at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile, said earlier studies often suggested cognitive advantages linked to multilingualism—such as better memory and attention—but were limited by small or inconsistent samples.

He noted that the new research addresses these gaps with an unprecedented dataset. Christos Pliatsikas, a neuroscientist at the University of Reading, described the results as unusually strong evidence after years of debate over the long-term effects of multilingualism on aging.

Researchers believe the findings could encourage more people to learn or maintain additional languages and may prompt policymakers to expand support for multilingual education as part of broader healthy-aging strategies. Experts added that the study contributes to growing global interest in lifestyle factors that help protect cognitive function.