Brain Fitness Training - The Smarter Resolution

View PDF | Print View
by: MartinG.Walker
Total views: 23
Word Count: 802

Although historians trace the origin of New Year's resolutions to the ancient Babylonians, the most apt historical symbol for the tradition is probably the Roman god Janus, his two faces looking back over past events and forward to the future. Where have we come from and where would we like to go. With an exciting new leap forward in the capabilities of brain training programs over the past year, this is the perfect time to make brain exercise our New Year's resolution.

Many of the traditional favorites - losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking, to name a few - already move us in the direction of better brain health. Brain training takes us a big step further by fostering brain plasticity, a state that we can use to improve our memory, concentration, and mental acuity while helping to stave off the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms and early dementia.

Although scientists had long since dismissed the idea that the adult brain could grow and change, research from the last few years overturns that theory with studies proving quite the opposite. The right conditions can cause the production of new neural nerve cells and the brain in fact proves to be remarkably adept at rewiring connections work more effectively with the right training. (The concept of brain plasticity is even being applied in new therapies for stroke victims, restoring motor capabilities that traditional therapies could not.)

The Advantages of Brain Fitness Training

Education & Problem-Solving: If you're due to take a standardized test this year, brain training should be part of your test preparation. Established test prep techniques can improve your test scores, but brain training can also increase your general problem-solving ability. And if you suffer from a learning dysfunction, you should know that many learning specialists now use brain exercises to help strengthen particular brain capacities, such as working-memory. While an accommodation can get you through, brain training can tackle the problem directly.

Job Success: Many jobs nowadays involve processing information and solving tricky problems, demanding a high degree of mental focus. Ironically, the daily blizzard of e-mails, meetings and phone calls make it extremely difficult to find and maintain that focus. By using brain training to increase our attention span and train our cognitive skills we can increase our level of productivity and effectiveness in the workplace, enhancing our earning potential.

Long-Term Mental Health And Well-Being: Unless we do something to stop it, by age 40 our brains have begun to decline. With regular mental exercise, however, we can reduce or eliminate memory loss, and lower our risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms and dementia. Researchers have even found that depression responds to the kind of stimulated neural growth that brain training can induce.

Self-Improvement: Quite apart from the self-improvement goal of thinking more sharply, brain exercise can also bring about changes that may seem unlikely - such as improved musical ability and increased self-esteem. But when we consider that the brain orchestrates all aspects of thinking and emotion this begins to seem less unusual. If you're the kind of person who likes to optimize mind, body, and spirit, brain training could open up a whole new realm of possibilities.

Sticking With Your New Resolution

Unfortunately, statistics indicate that most of us won't stick to our New Year's resolutions. Men tend to do much better if they quantify their goals. And women can increase their chances of success by going public and by engaging their friends in the challenge. Fortunately, since many people enjoy the challenge and rewards of brain training, it can be an easier activity to stay with than some. You can measure your progress through the results of the exercises, and in many cases you can share your scores on some form of blog or social network.

If you decide to make brain training one of your New Year's resolutions, make sure to select a brain training product that is effective and right for you. Not all brain fitness products are equally effective. Some engage us with brain teasers or games that don't require significant focus and attention and won't induce significant if any neural growth. Others work but cost hundreds of dollars or require a big time commitment.

Check the scientific pedigree of the training program. Does the vendor specify what the training will accomplish and what measurable gains to expect in memory or processing ability? Does the product come with a training schedule, telling you how much time to devote to the exercises and over what period?

Brain training could be the best New Year's resolution you'll ever make. With the right level of commitment it can bring about a big jump in mental ability and set us on the road to long-term brain health.

About the Author

Oxford-trained scientist, author, and technologist, Martin G. Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. His company Mind Evolve Software publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training as well as effective and affordable brain training software under the brand name Mind Sparke.

Rating: Not yet rated --Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5 Comments No comments posted. Add Comment You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.