Improving Memory: Are Mind Training Exercises A Good Solution?
As we age, we occasionally think that we would like to provide our maybe faltering mental performance a bit of a boost. One method of improving memory and other mental capabilities seems to be brain training. This comprises a variety of computer-based games intended to assist you become more skilled at a variety of mental functions including memory, problem-solving and basic mathematics. Remarkably though, we are inclined to think that due to the fact we progress at performing the brain training games, that these abilities are automatically transferable and thus useful in other mental functions that we need to accomplish.
You might be forgiven for thinking that all the brain training games have been designed taking the ever-increasing body of brain science into account. Indeed, a lot is already known about the neurological underpinnings of how memory is laid down in the first place, and then improved. Maybe they have been designed this way, but where is the evidence of how successful you can be using these exercises?
Well, recently the very revealing results of a large UK study into the effectiveness of brain exercises on improving memory etc. have been published, and they are probably not what you would have predicted. BBC television conducted this research in conjunction with the British Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society.
The research team enrolled thirteen thousand adult volunteers to be involved in their rigorous experiment for six weeks. The purpose was to discover whether exercising the brain on various activities engineered to employ different areas of the brain (such as the temporal lobes for memory and the parietal lobes for mathematics), would boost brain skills, such as memory and problem-solving capabilities.
The volunteers were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The first group did a broad range of brain exercises, including ones for improving memory , for ten minutes every other day for six weeks. Since the tasks were internet-based, the control group just used the internet for the same amount of time. At the end of the trial period, the brain training group was retested on the brain exercises and was found to be 33 per cent better at performing the brain games they had trained on.
The intention of the study was to discover if becoming competent at brain training activities would produce improvement in the same skills when used in a different context. So both groups of subjects were tested prior to and following the experiment in their ability to perform activities such as problem-solving and remembering number sequences.
Upon retesting at the end of the trial, the control group’s score had improved by 4.35 per cent. Surprisingly however, the score for the experimental group was almost identical. It represented only a 6.52 per cent increase over its original score. So, statistically there was no difference between the two groups. Of course, what they could not conclude was whether the small improvement was just the effect of working online. Perhaps there could have been another group that did nothing online.
However, people who enjoy brain exercises should not lose heart. Firstly, speaking from personal experience, if nothing else, they are a lot of fun! Beyond that, even though you should not expect them to help with improving memory , there are certainly a number of other strategies for improving your memory and other mental abilities, which have been scientifically-proven. These include diet, reading, taking physical exercise and listening to music.
Tags: brain exercises, improving memory, memory, memory exercises, self-help