Did you know that scientists believe learning a second language can boost brain power?
Bilingualism-or speaking two languages equally well- is a form of brain training.
Brain training is where you are learning ways to increase your memory or intelligence. You can train your brain by doing some things like doing a crossword puzzle, playing chess, or studying a new language.
The theory behind why bilinguallism might be a protictive factor is that it involves a lot of switchings and that seems to exercise the sort of executive parts of our brain, these parts of the brain are kind of stronger and fitter when it comes to resisting some kind of damage from the stroke.
A stroke is a serious illness that occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, and the executive functions are the mental skills involved in doing things like problem solving and planning.
So when a bilingual speaker switches or changes from one language to another this exercise makes the executive parts of their brain stronger and fitter.
And because the brain is stronger; it is able to resist or prevent damage caused by a stroke.