Can Websites Like Lumosity.com Act as a Brain Trainer?

The Flash Game as a Brain Trainer: Online Games that Build Cognitive Skills 

Whether you’re looking to improve your cognitive skills just for fun, or in the interest of staving off the effects of aging on memory and cognitive processes, you can find many games online that are specially designed to serve as a kind of “mental workout”. Much as you might exercise your legs, abs, or arms at the gym, you can exercise your memory, attention, and other capacities using online games from websites like Lumosity. These websites can act as a “brain trainer”, helping you enhance and build on your intelligence and cognitive skills.

What Websites Offer Brain Training Games? 

There are a number of websites online that offer “brain trainer” games. Lumosity is the most well-known, but there are also several others.

Websites that offer cognitive training games include:

-          Lumosity

-          MindGames

-          BrainMetrix

-          FitBrains

-          AARP (brain.aarp.org)

-          CogniFit

-          NeuroNation

These are only a few of the many websites offering fun, engaging online games that also train your brain.

What Kinds of Cognitive Skills Do These Games Exercise? 

These kinds of websites offer games that serve as “workouts” for a number of areas of mental ability, including:

·         Memory; including object recall, keeping track of multiple ideas at once, and remembering names.

·         Attention; concentrating and ignoring distractions when taking in new information

·         Speed; including decision-making in time-sensitive situations, reacting quickly, and adapting quickly to changing environments and parameters

·         Flexibility; including multi-tasking, avoiding errors, and “thinking outside the box”

·         Problem Solving; including doing mental math, making quick and accurate numerical estimations, and figuring out patterns

What Are Some Benefits of Brain Training Games? 

Studies using brain training games have indicated that, especially in people trying to counteract age-related memory deficits, the games can in fact help with cognitive tasks.

Selecting and playing some brain trainer games can help you:

·         Improve your memory

·         Improve your math skills

·         Improve pattern-recognition skills

·         Build your vocabulary

·         Strengthen your ability to concentrate

·         Speed up your reading comprehension

·         Improve your word recall

·         Listen more sharply

·         Feel more confident

A number of websites act as a “brain trainer”, offering computer games that are designed to build certain cognitive skills. These games can help you build up mental abilities and stave off the detriments of age. There are also other natural alternatives that are available that show similar results. A recent breakthrough, known as Neurofeedback Therapy, acts as a brain trainer by incorporating games into brain training exercises. It is a non-invasive process that is safe, painless and proven effective in enhancing brain function as well as treating a range of neurological disorders.