Do brain games boost cognition and memory?

2 de mayo de 2021

4 min de lectura

Few things strike fear into people like the idea of losing their memory. Diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s rob individuals of their very identity by stealing their memory and cognitive abilities.

Brain games can help keep some cognitive decline at bay. Keep in mind that while memory loss often troubles people the most, it is not the initial cognition issue for most people. That dubious honor belongs to perceptual speed, the ability to differentiate between figures, symbols, and other simple tasks. Perceptual speed cognition issues start surfacing as early as the 20s and 30s, so brain games are beneficial for more than just the middle-aged and elderly.

What are Brain Games?

Brain games are loosely defined as any sort of activity that stimulates thinking. However, they are not necessarily “games” per se. All sorts of activities stimulate thought, including painting and playing music. Brain games can foster independence, enhance social skills and improve motor skills.

Classic Brain Games

There is no shortage of brain games available in stores or online. Some of the best brain games have been around for decades, entertaining participants while keeping the mind sharp. You are probably familiar with many of the classic brain games, which include:

Bridge
Card games
Chess
Crossword puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles
Scrabble
Sudoku
Word searches

Video games such as flight simulators or Wii Fit also serve as brain games.

Cognitive Reserve

You’re familiar with the adage of putting money away for that rainy day. When playing brain games, you may be putting some additional cognition –a cognitive reserve –to have on hand to guard against age-related memory decline.

While brain games can build cognitive reserve, this does not occur in a vacuum. Scientists have found that the best way to maintain brain health also involves regular exercise. A minimum of 2.5 hours per week of moderate exercise increases the amount of blood flowing to the hippocampus. That is the part of the brain responsible for storing memories. Brain games in addition to exercise provide the most value.

Neuroplasticity and the Brain

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain’s neural networks to grow and reorganize. Stimulation causes the brain to form new connections. This process allows people to keep learning while preserving memory as they grow older. Neuroplasticity helps to combat neurodegeneration or the progressive deterioration of the neural networks leading to dementia and diseases such as Parkinson’s.

While brain games can assist in keeping the brain healthy, they may prove insufficient when it comes to actually improving neuroplasticity, according to investigators at Los Angeles’ renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

An Everyday Challenge

What is known to boost neuroplasticity is learning something new. Whether that means learning to play a musical instrument or learning a foreign language, the everyday challenges in developing these new skill sets can promote neuroplasticity and improve brain health.

Finding the Right Brain Game

There are no shortages of brain games and apps available, but these are obviously not created equal. The right brain game consists of an activity you enjoy doing, for the simple reason that people may not engage in games they do not particularly care about.

However, it is critical to choose brain games that have gone through rigorous trials. Such games have been proved through well-designed trials to increase neuroplasticity and improve memory and attention span.

Brain Training Game Study

A study conducted by the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University and in King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between October 2015 and April 2016 enrolled 51 healthy subjects in the computerized brain training game Luminosity.

Participants played the game for 15 minutes daily every day for three weeks. A control group did not play Luminosity. Both groups took the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) test before the game playing began and three weeks later.

The game-playing subjects played the following Luminosity games:

Face Memory
Lost in Migration
Memory Matrix
Money Comb
Rotation Matrix
Speed Match

The study found that cognitive aspects of the group playing Luminosity improved in various ways. This included processing speed and attention.

Temporary vs. Lasting Changes

There is good news and bad news when it comes to the efficacy of brain games on memory and cognition. The bad news is that much of the improvement wanes if individuals stop playing brain games for any length of time. That makes sense because not performing any kind of beneficial exercise for months will make a person out of shape. No longer practicing brain games make people especially vulnerable to loss of memory.

The good news is that certain benefits remain even for those no longer actively pursuing brain games. Processing speed for those who formerly engaged in regular brain games remained stronger for a decade or more. They could better retain information processed via auditorily.

Sources

The thinking on brain games - Harvard Health

Mind games (apa.org)

Brain Training Games Enhance Cognitive Function in Healthy Subjects (nih.gov)

Do Brain Games Help Brain Health? | Cedars-Sinai (cedars-sinai.org)

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