Brain Training: Could it be a Way to Keep Your Brain Young?

Your brain is not a muscle, but when it comes to exercise, you should certainly think about it as if it was one. People focus on the wellness and wellbeing of their bodies all the time, but rarely stop to consider the fitness of their brains. Few people actually realise that brain fitness is something that you can work on and continually improve. You can (and should!) exercise your brain every day, and the results can be hugely rewarding and empowering.

 

In order to get into the right mindset, so to speak, it is useful to think about your brain in the same way that you would think about a muscle. If you are working on a physical muscle, you can’t simply do the same exercises over and over again, because they soon cease to challenge your body. You have to keep varying the exercises and making it more of a challenge for your body. In the same way, you can’t simply repeat the same brain exercises over and over again otherwise your brain will become used to tackling them and they will not force the brain to form new neural pathways. You need to master the easy exercises and then push your brain on to the next level.

 

Your brain has an innate neuroplasticity, which means it has an ability to grow and change in order to respond to new challenges. This is where brain training comes into play. Studies on neuroplasticity show that the brain continues to grow and change during adulthood and that it needs guidance and challenge in order to ensure that new neural pathways are formed and the brain continues to thrive.

 

Studies have been carried out recently at Stanford University, which showed that just 12 weeks of brain training could lead to improved processing speed, increased mental flexibility and improved ability to perform working memory tasks.

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How to Improve Your Intelligence With Brain Training

You may not fully believe in it, but new research seems to prove that the wellness and wellbeing of your brain is directly linked to how much exercise you give it. Brain training, as it is often called, is also not only good for your cognitive function, but for your mental and emotional health, as it helps to retain or recover failing brain function.

 

Many people find as they get to middle age that their mental clarity and memory start to fail. They often start to forget simple things, such as where they put their purse just a minute ago, the name of an old friend that they bump into on the street or the name of a specific book, film or song that they used to love. As the brainpower fades, many refer to these as ‘senior moments’.

 

Although people joke about these ‘senior moments’, the distress caused by this loss of brain power can be very upsetting and can have a negative effect on your social, professional and personal wellbeing.

 

Whilst this loss of brainpower happens to most of us, scientists are now saying that it is not inevitable, and that there is actually a lot that can be done to help fight against it. The brain is, after all, a muscle just like any other in the human body, and when it is exercised, or given mental workouts, the cognitive function can significantly improve. Thinking is a process whereby neural connections are made in the brain, and when these connections are made on a regular basis, through brain training, the pathways become clearer and more fluid.

 

Brain training programmes have been developed all over the world, now, providing older adults with the opportunity to use their mental skills on a daily basis. These vary from computer programmes to set tasks, but all have the same aim of forcing the user to engage their brain on a regular basis.

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The Truth About Brain Training: Does It Make You Smarter?

The sad fact about getting older is that one of the first things to go is your mental wellness and wellbeing. As you hit around middle age, you will probably start to notice that you begin to forget things. Memory can be one of the first things to go, and this can be in the form of forgetting the name of someone you used to know to forgetting where you have put your car keys. As the brain power fades, many refer to these times of forgetfulness as ‘senior moments’, indicating that they come on with age.

 

Whilst many people joke about their ‘senior moments’, in truth it can be very upsetting to find yourself unable to recall something that you know you should be able to remember, and the feeling that your mental capacity is slipping away from you can be truly frightening.

 

Most people do accept, however, that this is a sign of encroaching old age and that there is nothing to be done. It has been found by neuroscientists, however, that there is actually a lot that you can do to help you hang onto your mental capacity.

 

The brain is a muscle just like any other in the human body, and requires regular exercise in order to keep it in shape. When you think, your brain makes neural pathways and connections, and this effectively exercises the brain and keeps its functions alive.

 

Using this knowledge, a web-based company in San Francisco has developed a ‘brain training programme’ that is designed to help people regain and even improve their mental abilities. Called ‘Luminosity’, the programme was developed with the help of a cognitive psychologist and encourages patients to exercise their brain skills. It keeps track of progress along the way and then modifies games and activities to make sure that you are building on the strengths you have developed as well as constantly varying the work that the brain is doing.

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Can Brain Training Give Your Mental Wellness a Boost?

If you’re nearing middle age, whether you’d like to admit it or not, you’ve probably started to notice that your memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. Out of nowhere, you start forgetting where you put your keys, or the name of an old friend or a band you used to love. You jokingly refer to these incidences as ‘senior moments,’ but while they seem like an innocent and inevitable part of growing older, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a detrimental impact on your mental wellness, as well as your professional, social, and personal wellbeing.

According to an increasing number of studies from neuroscientists, senior moments happen to everyone but there are actually many things that can be done about them. Your brain needs exercise just like your muscles do, and by doing the right kinds of mental workouts you can significantly boost your brain power and basic cognitive functions. But how?

When you think, you’re essentially making neural connections in the brain. It is your ability to make these neural connections that drives your intelligence and, to a certain extent, this ability is inherited. However, these connections are made through effort and practice, which means that, according to leading scientists and neuro-wellness experts, intelligence can expand and fluctuate according to mental effort.

A new San Francisco Web-based company has taken this idea and turned it into the first ‘brain training programme.’ Dubbed Lumosity, the programme has been developed with the view of helping you to actually improve and regain your mental sharpness. Lumosity was designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford University, who assert that the programme is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills.

By integrating memory exercises into a Web-based programme, the Lumosity developers have allowed you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills. The programme does this by keeping track of your progress and providing detailed feedback on your performance and improvement.  Further, and perhaps most importantly of all, it provides constant modification and enhancement of the games you play so that you can continue to develop your memory strengths – just like how you change up your exercise routine to make sure you always get the benefit.

During one of its randomised, controlled clinical trials, six-weeks use of Lumosity was shown to improve student scores on math tests by 34%. According to the company, users of the programme have reported clearer and quicker thinking, improved memory for names, numbers, directions, increased alertness and awareness, elevated mood, and better concentration at work or while driving.

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Can Brain Training Give Your Mental Wellness a Boost?

Categories: Brain Training, Lumosity, memory