Brain games are all the rage on phone app stores and have become particularly popular for people looking to improve cognition and enhance their cognitive ability. If you’ve been on the fence about whether they can truly help with your cognitive decline by boosting your cognitive skills, you’re not alone. Many people are skeptical about cognitive games, even now.
Does brain training truly offer cognitive boosts? Will the best and most popular brain training games provide short-term benefits and long-term benefits in cognitive improvement? Or is cognitive brain training something best handled by doctors? Our team at A Cognitive Connection can help you answer these questions before you download any apps!
We’re a trusted cognitive health, mental health, and brain health team in Colorado Springs, CO, who can help improve your cognition and keep you mentally sharp. Whether you live in Colorado or beyond, it’s important to understand the scope of these games, the ways they can help you, and the health benefits our team can provide you or someone you love.
What are Brain Games?
Brain games are exactly what the name implies: simple (or complex) activities designed to stimulate your brain and improve cognitive ability. As defined by St. Luke’s Health, they “…can improve cognitive skills like memory, problem-solving, and critical thinking” and are available either a) in print form, such as puzzle books, or online using apps.
What kind of cognitive games are available to combat mental decline? Activities such as playing chess, walking, talking with a friend, finishing a crossword puzzle, or doing one of those frustrating Sudoku puzzles can all help fight cognitive decline. Brain training games also come on fun apps that feature cool activities with real cognitive boosts, such as:
- Luminosity: Offering the most popular cognitive games on the market, Luminosity has been played by over 85 million people. It was created by real cognitive brain training experts to provide strong short-term benefits and long-term benefits for people who use it regularly.
- Peak: Designed to provide fun and stimulating “mini-games” with intensive intervals, Peak is one of the top-rated brain training apps on the market. It covers concentration, language, mathematics, and other important skills to get you where you need to go.
- Elevate: Elevate is a professional-level and polished training app that features mini-games, crosswords, cognitive brain training, and cognitive improvement activities that can boost your brain health, mental health, and cognitive health in many unique ways.
- Cognifit Brain Fitness: As a relatively new training app, Cognifit Brain Fitness features over 25 games that can help you challenge friends with real-time monitoring. By gameifying this process, Cognifit makes it more fun and engaging for many people.
- Mensa Brain Training: Mensa is the world’s oldest intelligence tracker and IQ society in the world. Their brain training app boosts your mental savvy and prepares you for the Mensa test. You might not pass it, but at least you can get closer!
How Do They Work?
The theory behind brain games is simple: they work multiple parts of your brain to increase your strength and boost your cognitive ability. Just think of it like bodybuilding. You don’t work every muscle on your body to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, you build your arms, legs, chest, and back on individual days to resculpt your body.
You can improve cognition in the same way by using cognitive games that steer your brain training to positive areas. So brain training games focus on boosting cognitive skills in specific areas of the mind. Some provide cognitive boosts to your language processing areas. Others focus on preventing cognitive decline in your mathematical skills.
These benefits are huge and worth working for with these fun cognitive activities if you’re concerned about your brain health. While they probably won’t reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms or anything miraculous, any extra cognitive health support is worth it. That said, we know what you’re thinking: do they actually work? Let’s jump into that topic below to find out!
Do They Improve Cognition and Your Cognitive Health?
A study by the American Psychological Association found that brain games could improve cognitive ability in a variety of people. After all, cognitive decline begins in the 20s and 30s: even a few hours a day could improve cognition by providing cognitive boosts that increase your cognitive skills to enhance your mental health, cognitive health, and brain health.
Other studies, such as “Brain Training Games Enhance Cognitive Function in Healthy Adults,” confirm that cognitive games and general brain training can provide real short-term benefits, including faster recall and better short-term memory. However, they also provide long-term benefits (such as cognitive improvement) that may last for many years.
Furthermore, studies like “Brain training using cognitive apps can improve cognitive performance and processing speed in older adults” also show that cognitive brain training can even improve cognitive performances in processing speed for older adults. Clearly, these games do provide at least some benefits, especially when paired with medical support.
For example, our team at A Cognitive Connection can provide Colorado Springs, CO, residents with medical-level cognition therapy. If you live in Colorado and struggle with cognition, we’re here to help you. With our support, you can get the best overall results for your brain training and walk away with stronger cognitive skills after your training.
What Benefits Will I Receive From Brain Training?
When used properly, cognitive brain training apps alternate between multiple games during each session to solidify your cognitive improvement. Most apps also use a gradual difficulty increase to solidify your mental health, cognitive health, and brain health boosts. These include short-term benefits and long-term benefits such as:
- Stronger Memory: Cognitive games can sharpen your memory using fun activities that force your amygdala (the memory area of the mind) to work harder. Expect to play matching, recall, and even sequencing games that work your memory uniquely.
- Better Emotional Health: Boosting your cognitive skills can also help balance your mental health. Better cognition can help you better process your emotions and understand them intellectually, reducing your emotional problems significantly.
- Faster Recall: Are you running into people on the street you can’t remember who claim they know you? Slower recall can be very frustrating and may even impact your emotional health. Thankfully, these cognitive activities can boost your recall significantly.
- Smarter Problem Solving: Improving your cognitive abilities can have a domino-like effect on other areas of your life. For example, better cognition could enhance your critical thinking skills and make it easier for you to solve problems in your life.
Can You Do Them On Your Own?
Anyone can download and sign up for these simple brain gaming apps. They’re designed to be easy to learn and usually aren’t that expensive. For example, Elevate costs just $39.99 yearly, far less than a cognitive treatment plan. That said, they can’t be used to manage severe or progressive brain health problems. Think of them as a supplement to real treatment.
For example, A Cognitive Connection can improve your cognitive strength by using various treatments, activities, and processes that naturally boost your cognition. Our support team understands cognitive games well and can help you find the best types to play based on your needs. With our help, you can get the cognitive support that makes sense for you.
A Cognitive Connection Improves Cognition With Brain Games
At A Cognitive Connection, we can help you find brain games to boost your cognitive ability, improve cognition, enhance your cognitive skills, minimize your cognitive decline, provide cognitive boosts, and much more. Our brain training includes cognitive games that will challenge and excite you and help you become happier and healthier.
However, we go beyond brain training games to provide cognitive brain training with strong short-term benefits and real long-term benefits. While we can’t promise cognitive improvement, we’ll do what we can to help Colorado Springs, CO, residents get the help they need. If you live in Colorado, call (719) 358-6637 or use our contact form to learn more.
