3 Answers

  1. Mind games train the skills needed to complete the game tasks included in them, but they don't teach you how to solve real-world problems.

    Smart online simulators promise to develop memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility, increase computing speed, and teach you how to solve problems. Judging by the fact that their share in the mobile app market has grown by more than a third since 2016, they are increasingly in demand. But can a 20-minute “mind workout” a day actually boost the brain and prevent age-related degradation?

    Developing the brain means building new and strengthening old connections between neurons. At birth, we already have all the neurons in our brain (about 14 billion) that we need. But the connections between them are not enough. Each of us has been creating them all our lives. We create neural connections when we get new experiences. And we strengthen it when we repeat this experience: the more often, the better. You can gain experience in many ways: reading, taking photos, studying math, playing sports, solving crosswords, traveling, meditating, and learning a foreign language.

    What is the fundamental limitation of intelligent simulators? Experts from the Stanford Longevity Center and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin tested mobile apps for developing cognitive abilities. Their verdict: these games help to train only the skill of solving narrowly specialized game problems, but not to develop general intellectual abilities. For example, you can train your memory and concentration to solve a certain type of puzzle. But that doesn't make you any more efficient in business. You can learn to better remember the position of the pieces on the playing field, but you will still forget the planned tasks. The principle is simple: if you want to learn how to solve a specific problem, you need to train this particular skill, that is, by repeating it, create and strengthen the corresponding neural connections.

    Can online exercise machines correct cognitive impairments or prevent age-related brain changes? Also no. And all other statements are nothing more than unfair advertising. Lumocity developers were even fined for misleading users. Complex brain stimulation is required to maintain brain health. The more perceptual systems you activate, the more parts of the brain are involved in processing information and forming new connections between neurons. Mobile simulators are designed mainly for visual perception, sometimes for auditory perception, but they never use the rest of the senses.

    In terms of the breadth of the stimulation range, even simple aerobics significantly exceeds them. That's why the Alzheimer's Association recommends exercising, eating right, and being socially active. Here are some more specific recommendations for maintaining brain health from the Stanford Longevity Center:

    • Try to regularly stimulate all the systems of perception, including the sense of smell.
    • Give yourself physical activity-it promotes neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) in the hippocampus and generally slows down the damage to nervous tissue.
    • Avoid stress — it slows down neurogenesis.
    • Engage in physical activities that require memorizing complex sequences and combinations of actions, such as aerobics, sports games, and dancing.
    • Take time to develop yourself and get new experiences. For example, travel and read. For the brain, not only developing literature is useful, but also fiction. Books are a source of new experiences and an incentive for developing emotional intelligence. Experiments show that reading is correlated with increased brain activity.
    • Develop fine motor skills: as you age, more and more areas of the brain are involved in controlling motor skills, especially in the prefrontal cortex. They are the most susceptible to age-related changes. Working with small objects (knitting, embroidery, modeling) and finger exercises help to stimulate these areas and train motor planning skills.
    • Get creative. Studies show that drawing not only reduces the stress hormone cortisol, but also stimulates memory. For example, when you take graphic notes or even unconsciously draw a doodle during a lecture, you remember 29% more information.
    • Add variety to your routine: take a new route to your place of work, taste unfamiliar dishes, or just try brushing your teeth with your left hand (if you're right-handed).

  2. I once read a scientific article that said that online exercise machines are not effective. Empirically, it was found that they train only those aspects within which the task is presented. That is, over time, you will be better able to search for numbers on the screen and remember their location, but this will not improve your attention and memory.�

    Judging by the Internet, only mnemonics and the n-back exercise are effective. Thanks to the first, connections are formed in the brain, thanks to which it becomes easier for a person to remember. Mnemonics also teach you how to encode information, which is also very important. The second is aimed at developing working memory. Working memory is the amount of information that you use to solve a problem. Maybe there's something else that works, but I've only heard of these.
    Imho, this list can be continued with exercises for quick counting.
    Although, despite the protest of science, there are people who say that the simulators helped them and that they are no longer lost in a stressful situation as they used to be, but for me personally-no. I am writing an answer to this question because I was interested in it myself at the time. And after all, I believe the articles more.

    From my experience, I can say that if you want to be smarter, just think more. So that even my head hurts. This is the best simulator. Do not be lazy to solve any task assigned to you (get rid of cognitive laziness) (by the way, online simulators can also be attributed here).Eat more fish and chocolate, less fat and everything that contains margarine (transgenic fats are evil). Take on all new beginnings: try to write a book, come up with an amazing story, play chess, etc. � �

    It helped me a lot (my thinking became better and faster). Hunting, of course, is even higher, but for now it takes time.

  3. I like the opinion expressed by Professor Savelyev on this issue. Yes, the personality is ambiguous, but the idea deserves attention. The bottom line is that the real development of the brain gives only the process of solving serious life problems. Like finding love, finding how to make a lot of money, writing a bestseller. Find something to eat, eventually. I think all this activates and trains the brain much more than any exercise equipment.

    An important point. Tasks should be new to you. That is, if you know how to make a million and again did the already familiar operation, then the brain will not move much.

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