Brain Games or Just Games? Look Behind the Curtain

Bold claims, blurry evidence.

Unfortunately, what seems too good to be true often isn't, and research on overall improvement in cognition or a decreased risk of dementia by playing brain training games remains unproven.

If you've been to any of my presentations, you've probably heard me talk about brain games and their pros and cons. My favorite saying is: "Sudoku won't save you – it will only make you better at Sudoku." 

Ten years ago, online brain training games were all the rage, claiming to do everything from improving our memory and IQ to delaying dementia; even helping us get that CEO position or increasing our athletic performance. We were buying $14.95 monthly memberships with the promise of tapping and mousing our way to bigger, better brains. 

Were these games actually helpful? Not really, according to neuroscientists.  

Repeating a specific mental task, such as memorizing a list of words or numbers, will obviously make you better at doing that specifically, and perhaps even translate to being better at remembering a grocery list or new phone numbers. But what if your memory improved overall for things like recognizing people's faces after a long absence, or remembering a driving route from looking at a map before the trip instead of relying on your GPS?  

This is the seductive logic of the brain-training industry. These companies promise that their simple games will boost your memory and improve your attention. The games are different but the idea is always the same – by playing them you unconsciously train deeper mental abilities and improve the things in your life that rely on those activities, all while having fun. 

Promises Versus Proof: What the Research Really Says

Do you remember the program Lumosity? When it was discovered that the parent company Lumos was releasing deceptive advertising such as "Based on the science of neuroplasticity" and failing to deliver on their claims of making us smarter, they agreed in early 2016 to pay a $2 million settlement to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was used to compensate Lumosity customers who were misled by false advertising. LearningRx also agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement to the FTC for similar false claims. 

The "solid scientific evidence" they used to back their claims was tangential and indirect at best, according to two consensus statements from neuroscientists at the Stanford Center on Longevity in Palo Alto, California, and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.

Improvements recorded on particular training tasks simply did not translate to increased cognition or lowered risk of dementia, as the developers of the games advertised. Brain gaming companies like Lumos and Learning Rx tend to blur the distinction between improvements on a particular task and improvements in general cognitive ability. 

Michelle Rusk, a spokesperson with FTC said:  

"Basically, we think the most that they have shown is that with enough practice you get better on these games, or on similar cognitive tasks."  

In light of these findings, it may be wise to exercise caution if you come across an online brain training package that claims to prevent or delay cognitive decline. 

While the benefits may be limited, brain-training games aren't entirely without merit.  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded a large interventional trial involving almost 3000 older adults, and the Alzheimer's Society funded two other large trials (of 12,000 and 7000 people respectively). They all concluded that people definitely got better at the tasks they were trained on, although it didn't necessarily translate to any other common daily tasks. The more exercises they did, the more likely they were to self-report improvements in thinking abilities. (It should be noted that those reported improvements were subjective only, meaning that their gains weren't scored by critical analyses.) 

If you're enjoying the games, absolutely keep doing them! But - if you're slogging through them simply to avoid dementia, you'd be better off going for a vigorous walk outdoors. There is enough evidence now to show that a lifelong approach to overall good health is the best way to reduce the risk of dementia. In other words, it's how you exercise your brain that really matters.  

Want growth? Ditch the repeats.  

Train Smart. Why Variety Beats Repetition.

Doing the same brain game over and over will only you make you better at that game as your brain adjusts to the complexity of it. (Wordl is a great example of making you a skilled creator of five-letter words.) It's like lifting weights or playing tennis...you eventually need to push yourself in order to make gains, and you've got to challenge your 'brain muscle' the same way.  

Helpful Tips: 

⭐ If you love number puzzles or word games, keep doing them, but be sure to mix them up and do as many different and new types of games as you can find. 

⭐ Learning a new language might feel daunting, but how about learning a new English word every day or week? What a great way to increase your vocabulary and boost your memory! 

⭐ If you play an instrument, commit to learning new pieces rather than playing the familiar ones.  

Use it or Lose it

The Alzheimer's Society endorses this theory, which is based on the belief that people who challenge themselves mentally and do intellectual activities on a regular basis (such as having a job or hobby that requires complex thinking) throughout their lives appear to have lower rates of dementia. This is the concept of building a 'cognitive reserve' that may provide some protection against the normal aging process and some cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's.  

But remember – there is more to achieving a healthy brain than exercising it! A well-rounded lifestyle with positive activities including physical exercise outdoors, an anti-inflammatory diet, reducing stress, practicing mindfulness and getting enough sleep are all key to maintaining good brain health.  

💡I invite you to read the next article to learn how to really up your game with Divergent Thinking.