Brain Games – Are they Worth Your Time?

Have you found it a little harder lately to remember your to-do list, or concentrate on a project at work? Or maybe you can’t seem to remember people’s names as well as you used to. It can be a sign that your brain needs some exercise.

As we get older our brains become less efficient at processing information from the senses (not because of specific hearing or vision loss but because of degenerative changes in the brain’s associative cortex). This starts to cause memory loss.

Is there anything we can do to stop this process or even improve our memories as we get older? Brain games just might give your brain the exercise it needs to sharpen your memory and other brain skills.

Research studies conducted with participants in brain games show that they can improve your memory, problem solving, concentration and/or other brain-related functions. Some studies show that it may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Plus they’re sort of fun to do! Lumosity is one website that has recently advertised their online games. Dr. Oz also featured quite a few brain games that you can try through his website.

The Lumosity games are also a part of the Human Cognition Project that studies how these activities impact our attention span, memory, speech and use of language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. You can read more about the results they’re already seeing.

If you can, give the games a try. Up to two hours per week can start to help you improve your skills… and your brain.