Two studies that suggest
“no matter how similar two languages are, and whether you only use them for speaking or writing: if you can use more than one language in everyday life and you are comfortable in expressing yourself in these languages, they do not hamper your achievements and, rather, they seem to represent a precious mental training”.
Bilingualism: what about dialects?
Commonly, when thinking about bilingualism our first thought goes to people who grew up in a family speaking more than one standard language… But how about the case of people who use both a standard language, such as English or Italian, as well as a local dialect?
See also
Update: Another study
Update: Another study here, you don’t even have to speak a dialect!
Speaking SLANG is as good for your brain as being bilingual
Bi-dialectalism boosts memory as much as speaking another language Experts say the extra stimulation leads to increased cognitive performance Second study also shows learning a second language can boost alertness The benefits of speaking more than one language have long been debated – with some experts claiming it gives the brain a boost, while others describing it as a distraction.