The great American industrialist Henry Ford once said: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” It is a fact that lifelong learning has numerous benefits for your well-being and cognitive functions. Here are just some of the ways in which devoting yourself to lifelong learning can help you live a healthier, happier existence.
Lifelong learning can lower stress levels
Learning takes many forms and one of the most accessible ways to learn is simply picking up a book and reading. Research has shown that your stress levels become reduced after only six minutes of focused reading. If you incorporate reading into one of your regular habits, you may find that it can lower your blood pressure, help to combat depression, and boost your cardiovascular system, all because of your lower stress levels. Most professional organizations subscribe to lifelong learning, especially in the medical profession. It is good for their staff for the benefits above and clearly good for their patients to have highly qualified professionals. For professionals in the dental industry, the question is elearning better than face-to-face learning is often raised. Clearly, both approaches have pros and cons in terms of time, quality of learning, and accessibility.
Boost your memory with lifelong learning
When you learn a new skill, hobby, or activity, you are strengthening the networks in your brain. For example, a study has shown that learning a second language helps positively influence cognitive aging and improves attention spans and concentration levels. A stimulated brain is a healthy brain and learning new languages inevitably involves recalling the new information for practice and revision. Your memory is regularly called upon by developing this skill, and these pathways are further improved. Another good example is when children learn a new musical instrument. A 2020 study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience showed that learning a musical instrument can improve many parts of a child’s development and that children who had undergone such training were more proficient in visual memory tasks than those who had not.
Lifelong learning can improve your lifespan
When you dedicate yourself to the philosophy and practice of lifelong learning, you are becoming more educated and aware of a huge number of issues, whether it be a raised awareness of current affairs, the history of civilizations, or the impact of humankind on the planet, your growing knowledge base is a source of important information that allows you to make more informed choices in how you live your life. It has also been suggested that a year of formal education can add six months to your overall lifespan. There is also a direct link between higher levels of education and lower levels of anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
To sum up
In conclusion, the concept of lifelong learning is one that has a multitude of health and psychological benefits. Learning is a gift that we can all enjoy, and learning can be used to improve both your quality of life and state of mind.