Week of August 31 - September 6, 2008

The Einstein Workout

Today's market experts have targeted the aging brains of the "Baby Boomers," producing studies that show that people who "exercise” their minds regularly are less likely to get Alzheimer's  than those who are idle. A study of over 700 elderly Americans demonstrated that doing plenty of mentally stimulating activities does help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. As a result, today’s marketplace is filled with "brain gymnasiums"--brain training computer games aimed at exercising the minds of the Baby Boomers and beyond

But are these games real brain trainers or a new wave of gimmicks? Is “brain training” a preventive measure worth your time and money?  Do we need to train our brains by purchasing new equipment, acquiring new computer games, and new on-line subscriptions? Will some of the old free games out there do everything the new snazzier games can do? The best way to find out seemed to be for me, a true baby boomer, to try it out for myself.

First stop: Nintendo's Brain Age. Kids just love Nintendo games, why shouldn't we? Their Brain Age games, marketed as "Finally a way to make mental exercise simple, fun, even competitive," has a clear interface and easy to understand instructions, even for the computer-challenged. Their internet site reveals that the inspiration for the series came from "the work of prominent Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima."  They declare that their games feature "activities designed to help stimulate your brain and give it the workout it needs."  And they make a clear promise: "Just minutes a day, that's all it takes to challenge your mind."  Well, almost. You also must purchase the Nintendo DS Handheld Game System. It includes a touch screen and lets users write their answers with a stylus pen.

The site promotes several different types of games such as recognizing the highest number that appears on the screen, figuring out simple arithmetic problems and unscrambling words.  All of these seem to do what they said they would do—they make the brain work.

But the need to buy both hardware and software (which enable you to carry it around and use it anytime) put me off as I know that after the initial excitement wears off  with these games, I will have few options to increase the challenge or use the unit for anything else.

Cogmed Working Memory Training is a totally different concept in brain training aimed first at children and then adolescents and adults to "sustainably improve attention by training their working memory."  What makes this site so different than the others is that it uses real people as coaches either in person or by phone. The site guarantees improvements but on a quick look-see I could not find any sample training exercises. For that you have to commit.

More to my liking are games that can be played on the internet or downloaded to the computer.  Free on-line games from Cognitive Labs advises us to "dwell on improving your brain," and they offer help in the form of free on-line games. They run the gamut from math to various brain puzzles, games you have definitely played before as well as diverse tests indicating your brain's age and some strange entries like History Kaleidoscope that brings to your screen different images from history. This site is by far the most diverse offering that I found. I also liked the price. All you need to do to activate the site is to put in your e-mail address and off you go. As many of the games are old, graphics quality is mediocre at best and many of them only open on part of the screen. This may leave many surfers not totally satisfied.

Similarly, at Sharp Brains, there are 50 different links to games and brain twisters to experiment on. Some focus on how your brain works and tests your brain for attention, memory, pattern recognition, language, logic, visual abilities and much more. Obviously, the more you play these games, the faster your reactions will be. There are also  links on this site to experiments and articles on the subject.

At Brain Metrix, there are about 18 different games available in a very simple format. Braingle claims to have the largest collection of brain teasers, riddles, logic problems, quizzes and mind puzzles on the internet, (Over 17,000 of them!), including their Mentalrobics section to improve your brain.

At Brainwaves, you get to try out different types of puzzles which are supposed to stimulate your brain and build mental stamina for sustained concentration, "much as aerobics builds physical stamina for sustained exertion." The puzzles include testing you on different kinds of data, as well as math, verbal, spatial and logical skills, all in entertaining formats. The puzzles here are really interesting and will probably do a lot to increaseyour brain’s alertness.

The Brain Arena's uniqueness lies in enabling you to compete against other people in a variety of tests of mental ability. To get onto this site you have to sign in and register, but there are no charges.

Queendom’s various brain challengers reminded me of IQ tests. To pass these tests, you really have to think intensely. As you try to answer the questions, you will actually feel your mind beginning to stretch.

And then of course there are the many sites like Game Brain, which  list other sites offering various games like MasterMind, Soduku, Reversi, Mahjong, Solitaire, Checkers, Chess and many more. Though they may be oldies, they definitely stretch you mind.

Perhaps the most fun for me was Matica, which has four different games using memory, math and motor skills. These games can be played over and over again allowing you to continuously improve your score.

With almost one million sites listed on Google to help train your brain, the need and the want are definitely out there. Which one is best for you mostly depends on your needs and requirements. If you are a person on the go who has time to fill only while commuting by train or plane, the Nintendo Brain Age games are probably for you. If you need a trainer to keep you at it, then you should definitely check out Cog Med. If you are in for exploring new possibilities, join the free sites to see what they have available.

If you are like me, someone who just likes playing computer games and would like to exercise your brain, I would recommend surfing around to see which sites ”click” with your tastes, then save them in your “Favorites” list to play another day.

BY:

Roberta Bienenfeld, Special to Alzheimer's Weekly

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MORE BRAIN GYM LINKS:

At the top of any page on this site, go to LINKS -> CAREGIVING -> ACTIVITIES.

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