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There are many commercial brain games available in the market place today. You can find brain games offered as online versions, as stand-alone CD’s, downloadable software, or even as complete systems including monitor and keyboard. The type of brain games I like to play most are the ones offered online, and here’s why.
- Portability – Since you’re accessing the game online, you can access the game anywhere you have access to a computer connected to the internet. This means you can get your brain exercise while on your main computer, a laptop, at your friends house, while traveling, etc.
- No CDs to have to store and keep track of.
- No downloads and nothing to have to install.
- Nothing to have to re-install should your computer crash.
- Instant program updates as they come out.
- No computer compatibility issues.
- No disk space required on your computer or back up device.
My favorite online brain games are from Lumosity. They offer a free trial which you can access by clicking HERE for FREE trial!
I’ve written several posts in the past which connected physical exercise to brain fitness. Well I just came across a news article today on yahoo which further highlighted this connection.
The article reported the results of a study performed by Dr. Patricia A. Boyle and her colleagues of Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago. They found that the greater a person’s muscle strength, the lower their likelihood of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The same was true for the loss of mental function that often precedes full-blown Alzheimer’s.
The researchers initially measured the strength of nine muscle groups in the arms and legs of 970 dementia-free men and women 54 to 100 years old (their average age was around 80). During a four year follow-up, 138 people in the study developed Alzheimer’s. These individuals were older and had worse mental function than the rest of the study participants. They also were weaker. They found that muscle strength had a strong influence on the risk of the disease. People who ranked in the top 10 percent for muscle strength were 61 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than the weakest 10 percent. Stronger people also showed a slower decline in their mental abilities over time.
“These findings support the link between physical health and cognition in aging and the importance of maintaining good physical function and strength,” Boyle told Reuters.
“Good physical health is important for good brain function.”
Source:
More muscle power means lower Alzheimer’s risk
Related Posts:
Physical Exercise Can Reverse Brain Decline
While traveling on business a week or so ago, I came across this older man who gave me a valuable secret with respect to keeping our brains sharp and fit as we get older. Since I know most of you are interested in such things, I’ll share with you how I cam across this man and what I learned about aging and brain fitness.
I was sitting at a table in the lounge area of a small airport waiting for our delayed plane to arrive. While I was sitting there watching a big screen T.V., this older man asked if he could sit down at my table.. I said sure. This man was dressed very casually, had long white hair tied in a pony tail and had a beard. We started out with small talk and then he started talking about himself, his family and the many and varied things that he’s seen and done in his life. He handed me his business card which indicated he had a Ph.D. and was a Professor Emeritus at the local state University. During our discussions, he noted things that had happened to him many decades ago. I said to him, “how old are you because you certainly don’t look old enough to of experienced some of those things.” He said he was 83 years old. I was a little taken back at first because he certainly didn’t look or act 83 years old to me. Mentally he was sharp as a tack. I said, “what’s your secret to staying so mentally sharp?” He replied, “I stay engaged.”
This 83 year old Professor Emeritus was definitely engaged in life. He had not retired from work – didn’t want to retire. He was still teaching kids about architecture at the local University. In fact he had taught not only locally, but had at different times in his life taught at different locations around the World. He continues to travel the world for both business and pleasure. He keeps up with local and World politics and goings on. He stays socially engaged. In fact on several occasions during our wait at the airport, I noticed that he had socially engaged many others just like he had done with me – he liked to socially engage with others.
So how do you keep your brain sharp and fit as a tack as you age? Stay engaged!
Related Posts:
Clues To Maintaining Brain Fitness Into Old Age
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Unlike physical exercise, which is usually done off-line, brain training is something you can do online. The web is exploding with new online brain game sites everyday. And online brain games are a great way to engage in brain training because:
- Their fun (they’re games right), and therefore they keep you wanting to come back and play some more.
- They can automatically change in intensity as you get better, which is important in order for the game to continue to be of benefit your brain.
- They can be found for free all over the web (and we’ve got a ton of free online brain games and game site links located right here at The Online Brain Games Blog.
- Their are many, many, and I mean many different types and varieties of online brain games available.
So why not check out a few of the many free online brain games available here on this site and get in some good brain training at the same time. You’ll also find a great list of the most popular commercial brain games here too along with a brief summary of each.
From neurons to brain wiring, Dr. David Walsh gives us an easy-to-understand video tour of children and teens’ brain development and the vital impact experience has on the “wiring’ of their brains.
Since we now know about brain plasticity and our brains ability to continue to develop and grow new connections throughout our lives, the principles presented in this video can be carried forward into adulthood as well. For instance, “use it or loose it” and the importance of how and what we stimulate our brains with.
I recently stumbled upon an article online titled, “Can Tetris or other games enhance your brain?” The article discussed the results of a study that was conducted by neuroscientists on two dozen adolescents in order to find out how playing the game of Tetris effected their brains. The online article reported the following results from the study;
Subsequent brain scans revealed that, in these players, certain regions of the cerebral cortex—areas with a role in planning complex movements and coordinating sensory information—had added new cells and grown a half-millimeter thicker.
Wow, I think that’s really awesome. I mean, who can’t use more brain cells? Increasing one’s ability to plan complex movements and coordinate sensory information may not get you an “A” on your next test, but it certainly will help you in life. In addition, it helps build what’s called a cognitive reserve, which has been shown to help prevent or delay the effects of alzheimers and other forms of dementia.
As a final note, you need to understand that what might be greatly beneficial for one person with respect to a particular brain game (free or commercial) might not be as beneficial to another. There is no “one size fits all”. I cover this along with how you can best choose a brain game specifically for you in a special report I send out to The Online Brain Games Blog newsletter subscribers. If you’d like to obtain this free report, fill out the request form below and it will be sent you via email immediately.
In this day in age of extremely polarized politics and World turmoil combined with the financial meltdown we’re all currently experiencing, finding a way to deal with stress becomes all the more important. I recently came across a great article in the Vancouver Sun regarding mental exercise, specifically meditation, and the positive impact it can have on our brains with respect to dealing with stress.
The author of this article, Denise Ryan, stated the following:
Richard Davidson, one of the world’s top brain scientists, believes that mental exercise, specifically meditation, can literally change our minds.
“Our data shows mental practice can induce long-lasting changes in the brain,” said Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
We can become more self-aware, better at handling distressing emotions, and more empathetic, a combination that creates greater social effectiveness.
Because our brains are plastic ( neuroplastic ) throughout our lives, we can literally change the wiring of our brains, regardless of age. To evoke such changes however, it requires mental exercise and regular practice.
Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.. and I think that’s a good thing! 
Below are a few of the best online links I’ve come across lately regarding brain health and fitness, exercise, brain games, memory improvement, and anti-aging. I hope you’ll find them as informative and useful as I did.
- Exercise can extend survival even in ‘oldest old’ – The benefits of physical exercise just can’t be stated enough. From the article:
They noted that exercise reaped benefits even for previously sedentary 85-year-olds; their three-year survival rate was double that of inactive 85-year-olds.
Oldsters didn’t have to be super-athletes to live longer; walking at least four hours weekly counted, even if it was just in 15-minute strolls a few times daily.
How cool is that? And as previously written about here on this blog, it has been shown that physical exercise can even reverse brain decline.
- 47 Ways to Fine Tune Your Brain – This article comes from the Dumb Little Man website, but these tips are far from dumb. The article looks at dozens of tactics that will help you maintain your brain into old age and help to increase your mental agility and cognitive development.
- Increasing cognition by playing games – It’s estimated that at least 65% of Multiple Sclerosis patients endure cognition problems on a day to day basis. Can playing brain games help them? From the article:
Is it really possible to improve some, MS related, cognition issues by playing computer games? Doctors from Baylor College of Medicine here in Houston seem to think so.
If this article motivates you to play some brain games, remember we’ve got a ton of free brain games right here on this site in addition to a great list of the top commercial brain games as well!
- Do Brain Workouts Sharpen Thinking? – Well, it all depends. From the article:
According to Zelinski, a brain game or any other activity can’t improve thinking or turn back the mental clock unless it’s both challenging and novel enough to build new connections between brain cells.
We think that’s excellent advice! In fact, if you wan to learn more about how to choose a brain game that will work for you specifically, subscribe to our newsletter and receive a free brain games guide.
- Obese People Have ‘Severe Brain Degeneration’ – Of course we all know about the health risks associated with obesity, but maybe you didn’t know about how it affects your brain. From the article:
A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.
- Drinking Coffee Could Reverse Alzheimers – Being a coffee drinker myself, I especially liked this article! According to a recent sutdy:
Hefty jolts of caffeine have reinvigorated the brains of old, demented mice at the University of South Florida.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed the brain fitness news links presented this month and found them enlightening.
Simon Online Brain Game
One of my daughters challenged me last night to an online brain game called Simon. It’s the online version of the hand held Simon concentration game. The online version of this game is a lot of fun and works both your visual and auditory memory.
The Simon game can be found here on The Online Brain Games Blog under the page titled Free Brain Games. I encourage you to go check it out and have some fun whilst exercising your brain cells.
So, you want to know how the challenge ended up? My daughter beat me at Simon last night by a wide margin. My highest score was 12, but she achieved a score of 25. That’s quite an impressive score, I do have to say!
Give Simon a try yourself and tell me what YOUR highest score is by posting it in the comment section below.
Have fun and exercise some brain cells at the same time!!
Below are a few of the best links I’ve come across so far this month on the web with respect to brain exercise, brain games, memory improvement, anti-aging and general overall brain health and fitness. I hope you will find them as informative and useful as I did.
Below are the links with article summaries:
7 surprising ways to keep your brain young – Around the time we hit 30, our brains begin a slow, steady downward trajectory — or so popular wisdom would have it. In fact, according to a flurry of new reports, you can counteract age-related changes in the brain with a surprisingly simple regimen of activities guaranteed to nurture and fortify your mental muscle-power.
Experts reveal best ways to save an aging brain – Most people are worried about losing their memory as they age, and a new study shows it’s a valid concern: In fact, at 53 percent — more than half of all people — have at least a minor mental decline in their 70s and 80s, and about 16 percent develop more serious problems with memory and other mental functions as they age. What’s more, when the researchers took a close look at this group, whom they call “cognitive maintainers,” they found evidence that although genes or illnesses can increase the risk of memory loss, there are still many things you can do to save your aging brain.
Workouts to keep your Brain sharp – Like physical exercise mental activities are also necessary for every human being. There are several activities within your limit which can effectively make your brain strong & sharp.
The Truth About Energy Drinks – Do energy drinks really rev up your body and sharpen your mind? To help you separate the science from the sales pitch, we analyzed the claims and ingredients of five of the most popular potions on the market, and rated them from best to worst.
Inexpensive Magnesium Proves Impressive at Protecting the Brain – The latest feather in magnesium’s cap is its newly discovered ability to protect the brain and improve the neurological outcomes of infants and adults who have had oxygen deprivation to their brains.
Games and Fun – Stress results in increased cortisol, anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction, and adverse bodily functions. One simple remedy for stress reduction is to increase the amount of fun in your life. Consumers indicate that two primary reasons they play online brain games are for stress reduction and mental stimulation.
