Can you speak two or more languages? If so, your brain may thank you for it later in life. New research published in the Annals of Neurology suggests that bilingualism may slow down age-related cognitive decline – even if a second language is learned in adulthood.

The research team, led by Dr. Thomas Bak of the Centre for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, notes that recent studies have already indicated a link between bilingualism and delayed onset of cognitive decline and dementia.

But according to Dr. Bak: “Our study is the first to examine whether learning a second language impacts cognitive performance later in life while controlling for childhood intelligence.”

The team assessed data from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, which involved 835 native English speakers who were born and resided in Scotland in the UK.

In 1947 – when the participants were approximately 11 years old – they completed a test measuring their levels of intelligence and cognitive ability. The test was repeated between 2008 and 2010, when the participants reached their early 70s. As part of the test, subjects were asked whether they could speak at least one language other than English.