Learning new skills can help protect the brain, notes Dr Marinella Cappelletti, senior lecturer in psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. “Learning in later life is seen by some researchers as a way to protect the brain against ageing because it promotes ‘neuroplasticity’ [the brain’s ability to develop new neural pathways or connections].”

Keeping learning throughout our lives brings real benefits, says cultural psychologist Professor Stephen Billett. “Our contemporary lives change constantly, so engaging in new tasks or activities that are not routine for us helps us to adapt and extend what we know, can do and value,” says Prof Billett, an honorary research fellow at the Department of Education at the University of Oxford.

This is especially true right now for everyone. We have more time at hand than usual, so why not engage in some easy challenge like learning the first words of a new language, or to use some of the endless tools even the most basic of computers can offer? Apart from the evident practical advantages, there is a sure gain in terms of satisfaction to be earned, even with the smallest advancement. And it is all in our hands.