Nowadays, there are innumerable scientific studies that point out that it is essential to take care of our brain to preserve our mental health and promote healthy aging.
One of them was a study published in The Lancet Magazine on the prevention of dementia in 2017. In it, they gave importance to some factors to avoid dementia in old age.
On the other hand, learning Spanish (or another language) is one of the many mechanisms that exist to build a much stronger cognitive reserve over time.
And now you will ask yourself: what is cognitive reserve? So, in simple words: it is the amount of "cognitive resources" that you accumulate throughout your life and that, together with your brain capacity enables you to better face aging (which will come to all of us) and avoid the impact of brain injuries in old age.
But back to the main issue, how can learning Spanish (or another language) protect your brain?
Well, today we will learn how to take care of our brain in an interesting way and on a daily basis, with an activity that brings us together on italki, learning languages. In our case: Spanish. Let's start!
1. Learn a new language: Spanish (or other languages)
It is no secret to anyone that learning languages, in our case Spanish, entails enormous challenges at the brain level: learning rules, memorizing vocabulary, establishing grammatical constructions, remembering words at precise moments, verb tenses, etc.
It is precisely for this reason that learning Spanish greatly favors the brain process, forcing you in a significant way to build new learning at the brain level, which results in the strengthening of neural networks, among other benefits.
But not only this, learning as a learning process is a habit that is strengthened as you practice, that is, the more you do it, the more brain work and cognitive resources you build in your favor.
2. Read in Spanish (or another language)
Reading is one of the most reliable strategies when it comes to learning vocabulary, recognizing what has been learned in reading, and seeing new words or sentences, and, additionally, it allows us to expand our creativity, stimulate concentration and attention as well as favor memory.
On the other hand, all this process together encourages the protection of the neural network, since you train different areas of the brain in the reading process.
3. Play
It is scientifically proven that when you get excited while learning, you manage to memorize more efficiently, and playing is a way to get excited in a more direct way.
That is why betting on learning Spanish or other languages in games (online, on your phone, with board games, with your teacher in class) favors and enriches your brain health.
And here is a challenge, you have fun or play games that involve the language in your day-to-day. In this way, you will not only learn Spanish, but you will also help your brain. Of course, you can apply this strategy in your native language, it will also be beneficial.
4. Put yourself to the test
When we begin the process of learning the Spanish language, it is a constant feature to challenge ourselves to achieve goals within the language.
For example, preparing yourself, studying verbs, and looking for the new or usual vocabulary of different topics, among other things, are the previous steps before proving yourself in writing, reading, listening to someone speak, and, of course, in a conversation, how much you have studied, learned, memorized and internalized the language.
On the other hand, I have the wonderful opportunity to accompany Spanish students who try to establish goals based on the presentation of language proficiency tests: DELE, SIELE, and CELU among the most famous, well, this undoubtedly adds a level of additional complexity to achieve this habit, since you are testing yourself under accurate and reliable academically demanding standards.
5. Socialize
Surely, after the start of the pandemic, the socialization process in many places and areas of daily life was distorted, however, when you learn a language it is essential to socialize to practice what you learn, right? otherwise, you would not train your expression and oral interaction.
Here is an additional advantage of learning Spanish or another language in your brain protection process. Learning a language involves acquiring the communication skills to identify as an individual and become part of the community through interaction.
So, in summary, learning Spanish (or another language) can provide you with immense benefits, not only from a work or academic point of view but also, on a personal level, it gives you resources to protect your brain, that wonderful organ that often goes unnoticed when we refer to health, specifically mental health and from which we learn more and more. So, don't wait any longer, request your Spanish class, and let's take care of our brains.
Thank you for reading :)
