Let’s face it: Keeping your brain strong and functional is essential for successfully navigating your later years. In fact, according to a recent AARP survey, ⅔ of Americans over age 40 are trying to embrace healthy habits that will maintain or improve their cognitive abilities. Most of us recognize that our brains need all the help and support they can get as we get older, so that large majorities in this survey said they were trying to socialize, manage their stress, engage in mentally stimulating activities, and eat and rest well (though, interestingly, only half of the survey respondents said they regularly exercise, something we know is critical for maintaining and supporting cognition). And what about a “cognitive workout” for your brain? You may remember that earlier this Fall, we cited research reporting the brain health benefits of brain game training to keep your memory, attention, and other cognitive functions intact. Recently, the NPR podcast Short Wave dove into this research further, providing additional insights into how a “cognitive workout” can be essential for healthy brain functioning as you age. To listen to this podcast, turn up the volume and click here.

But new research continues to reveal additional steps and precautions connected to your brain health. First, consider your blood pressure. Those of you with hypertension (high blood pressure) likely know the dangers that can result from uncontrolled high blood pressure, including heart and artery damage, kidney damage, and brain damage (from stroke, for example). New research published in Neuron further explores the connection between high blood pressure and damage to the brain, reporting that hypertension can disrupt brain cells and the integrity of blood vessels in the brain years before there is evidence of a spike in your blood pressure. The impact of this damage, well before you realize the dangers from high blood pressure, can set you up for problems with thinking and memory as you age. In fact, the researchers report that patients with hypertension have a 1.2-1.5 fold higher likelihood of cognitive disorders compared to those who don’t have hypertension. This underscores how important it is to pay attention to your blood pressure for better brain health, among other reasons, even before you suspect any serious problems. For more on this study, extend your arm and look here.

But there’s some good news for those of you who are adept at learning languages. A large, new study published in Nature Aging examined the rate of cognitive brain aging in those who speak more than one language. While there’s been a small amount of research on this topic in the past, what this new study found quite convincingly is that people who are multilingual are half as likely to show accelerated biological aging compared to those who only speak one language. The study involved over 86,000 participants, aged 51-90, across 27 European countries, and found that even adjusting for age and physical, social, and sociopolitical factors, those who spoke more than one language reduced their risk for accelerated brain aging. And those who spoke more than 2 languages had even lower risks of accelerated brain aging. So whether you grew up learning more than one language and are now still multilingual, or you’ve dedicated yourself to learning another language, it seems you’re definitely doing your brain a favor. For an extra incentive to try a new language, click here for the website Babbel, a website dedicated to online language learning, currently running a Black Friday sale!