One game we enjoyed was Error Avoidance, whereby the user is required to “keep” or “swap” two words in a passage of text within a set time. Each game also comes with a brief description of its goal, such as “stop mixing up commonly confused words” and “improve your reading comprehension.” Just like Lumosity, Elevate encourages daily brain training, which involves the completion of three games, or five games with the “PRO” version.Įlevate has more of an adult feel than many of the other brain training apps the minigames take a more serious approach, focusing less on colorful illustrations and more on text. Image credit: ElevateĪccording to the app’s creators, “the more you train with Elevate, the more you’ll improve critical cognitive skills that are designed to boost productivity, earning power, and self-confidence.” Share on Pinterest Elevate consists of more than 40 minigames designed to boost a variety of cognitive skills. Lumosity is free to download on Android and iOS, though upgrading to a premium subscription costs $11.99 per month or $59.99 for 1 year. Many of the games – such as Highway Hazards, a driving game that involves moving left or right to avoid road hazards – have a child-like appeal. Luminosity is an app that could easily appeal to both children and adults. We found that this game really challenged our concentration – although it could be frustrating at times. In this game, the user must change the direction of train tracks, with the aim of guiding different colored trains to the correct home. One game we enjoyed was Train of Thought, which focuses on attention. This provides insight into the areas of cognition that require the most attention.Įach day going forward, Lumosity sends a reminder to complete a brain “workout.” The daily brain workout involves playing three minigames – five with the premium version – each focusing on the five cognitive functions. Once the games are complete, users are shown how their results compare with those of other users in the same age group. With this in mind, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the app for ourselves.Īt sign-up, you are required to complete a “fit test,” which calibrates your speed, attention, and memory through three separate games. Share on Pinterest Lumosity has more than 85 million users worldwide. Medical News Today have tried and tested five of the best brain training apps available to help you make an informed decision. With so many to choose from, however, how do you know which one is best for you? Such studies have fueled the development of hundreds of brain training apps, many of which claim to improve cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and concentration. Research presented at the 2016 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference found that older adults who took part in ten 1-hour brain training sessions over a 5-week period were 48 percent less likely to develop cognitive decline or dementia over 10 years. It is not only young adults who might benefit from brain training. As with all scientific research, there is also a risk of publication bias.While some studies have failed to find a link between brain training and improved cognitive functioning, other research has found the opposite.Ī study published in PLOS One in 2013, for example, found that young adults who engaged in brain training games demonstrated improvements in brain processing speed, working memory, and executive functions. These results are promising, but more research is needed to determine the connection between improved assessment scores and everyday tasks in participants' lives.įuture research should address the risk of inadvertent experimenter bias and the risk of attrition bias in this study, as both the Lumosity and crossword groups had approximately 50% attrition rate. In it, half of the 4,715 participants who completed the study trained five days per week, for fifteen minutes each day on Lumosity while the other half did online crossword puzzles as an active control.Īfter 10 weeks, Lumosity users improved more than the control group on our assessments of working memory, short term memory, processing speed, problem solving, fluid reasoning, and overall cognitive function. Lumos Labs conducted a randomized study of Lumosity brain training and published the results in a peer-reviewed research journal.
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