How To Exercise Your Brain and Improve Your Memory and Concentration

Many people of all ages engage in brain training in the hopes of maintaining or improving their cognitive abilities.

Based on the principle that brain training is a “use it or lose it” practice. Common belief says the more you test your brain, the less likely you are to develop cognitive impairment (a loss of one’s ability to recall or learn things) or dementia in later life. 

Interestingly, professionals noted that brain training or brain exercise games could help younger people.

In a randomized controlled trial by Smart Ageing International Research Centre, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, suggests that commercial brain training games help young adults enhance executive functions, working memory, and processing speed. 

Furthermore, the popular puzzle game can enhance attention and visuospatial skills compared to playing a brain training game. The current study provided scientific proof that a brain training game improved cognitive skills to include working memory, executive function and processing speed in healthy people of all ages.

Brain games take advantage of our enjoyment of gaming by providing a plethora of puzzles and difficulties that people can play for hours or minutes at a time. 

Read on to learn more about the best brain-training games that can help you sharpen your mind and even prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Why Play Puzzle Games? 

There are a few noteworthy points to note about the brain-training game phenomenon from the standpoint of someone trying to avoid any degenerative brain disease. 

According to the research, many scientific claims support the concept that brain-training games make you smarter based on preliminary studies and weak evidence that objective experts have called into doubt.

On the other hand, these scientists have not questioned the efficacy of brain-training games in avoiding Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

So what’s stopping you? Playing brain-training games may be a fool’s errand if you want to turn yourself into the next Einstein. However, suppose you want to avoid Alzheimer’s disease by keeping your brain’s synaptic connections robust.

Games that test your working memory and mental agility might be an essential element of your strategy along with getting plenty of sleep, eating a nutrient-rich diet, and exercising multiple times per week. Take a look at these suggestions.

Sudoku 

Sudoku is a widely-known short-term memory-based number placement game.

To complete a Sudoku puzzle, you must think ahead and follow chains of consequences—if you put a 6 in this box, that box must be an 8 and this one a 4, and so on. This planning strategy aids in the development of short-term memory and concentration.

Sudoku is a puzzle game that can be played online, on an app, or paper. Look for a Sudoku puzzle in your newspaper, get a puzzle book, or download a free app for your phone or tablet.

Sudoku problems come in a variety of levels of complexity. Play the simple games at first until you understand the rules. Use a pencil if you’re playing on paper!

Dakim

Dakim, which bills itself as a “brain fitness program,” provides users with various games and puzzles to assist them in giving their brains a thorough exercise.

The application gives you access to over 100 different brain exercises, all of which improve attention and focus – in other words, the types of mental tasks can help prevent brain degeneration and, in the worst-case scenario, could teach you something worthwhile.

On their website, you can sample Dakim for free.

Lumosity

Lumosity, which is available for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, is a collection of cognitive and scientific games designed to improve working memory and stimulate the brain daily. 

Part of the goal of these games is to improve your ability to pay attention to the right things — those that aid you in completing the task at hand — while learning to disregard the things that don’t.

Lumosity is a top-rated brain-training game with over 60 million users worldwide.

Fit Brains Trainer

Fit Brains Trainer gives you access to over 360 games and puzzles to help you improve your memory, focus, and brain speed.

Program designers at Fit Brains Trainer created the game to become more challenging as you go, ensuring that you are never without a challenge and a method to give your brain a good workout. 

Fit Brains Trainer is a free app available on Google Play and the App Store for iOS.

Clevermind

Clevermind, unlike many other brain-training games, is specifically created for people who are already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. 

It is more than just a collection of games. As any caregiver will tell you, treating someone with Alzheimer’s disease entails much more than simply providing mental stimulation. Clevermind accomplishes this by providing social, medical, and dietary tools, all of which are presented in an easy-to-read interface with a digital assistant that talks in a Siri-like voice. 

Clevermind is a free app available on the App Store for iOS devices.

Brain Fitness

Cognifit Brain Fitness is a free app that allows users access to various enjoyable, well-designed activities created by neuroscientists.

Along with game play users can keep track of their progress and even begin with a cognitive test. If you’re feeling competitive, you may also challenge your friends, which is not only entertaining but can also help you prove to your buddies that you’re the smartest of them all.

Brain Trainer

This popular software, which is available in both free and paid editions on Google Play and iTunes, has one of the most comprehensive brain-training games accessible, including language games, arithmetic games, rapid shape games, and much more (including, of course, Sudoku). Best of all, you can customize your gaming experience to meet your specific objectives, such as problem solving, memory, attentiveness, and agility.

Brain Metrix

Brain Metrix is a free online site that helps you “train your brain.”

It has a vast collection of concentration, color, IQ, spatial intelligence, memory, and creativity activities to help you get your brain in shape. If you want to play games that improve your brain’s fitness in ways that can help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia, Brain Metrix has a variety of fun tasks from which to choose.

Eidetic

“Learn and remember anything” is the Eidetic tagline, which perfectly captures the app’s sole purpose.

According to scientific studies of how the brain learns, to successfully store information, repetition is essential. The Eidetic app uses a method known as “spaced repetition” to help you learn and recall various intriguing words and facts. It’s available for iPhones and iPads as an iOS App.

Online games and applications are a great way to exercise your brain and maintain a healthy functioning mind. Any one of the games mentioned above will have you stepping in the right direction to clear thinking and increased productivity.