Mind360 Blog

With the emerging brain fitness industry already growing at what can best be described as a mind boggling pace, so too is the amount of information, and subsequent confusion, surrounding this vitally important field. This is especially true as increasingly more software and online developers get into the brain fitness game with the hopes of appealing to the huge baby boomer market unwilling to lose their marbles just yet.

Enter SharpBrains.com, a leading online site providing comprehensive news, information and resources about the mental fitness biz. Self-declared “the Brain Fitness Authority,” given the site’s impressive list of endorsements by a host of major media outlets, indeed, a few well-spent minutes checking out their site is convincing enough of SharpBrains market status. Considering all the positive press and endorsements this organization has enjoyed since its inception in 2005, this is a good place to start (and bookmark) as a reliable source of brain fitness information.

SharpBrains CEO Alvaro Fernandez

Boomers bent on maintaining their wits

According to SharpBrains co-founder and CEO, Alvaro Fernandez, “by 2015, the industry should reach $2 billion in annual sales,” adding that “ the growth will come from computer-savvy boomers and seniors eager to stay not just physically fit, but also mentally alert as they age.”

Mr. Fernandez, a Stanford University graduate (MBA, MA) served formerly as Director and GM of Edusoft’s Assess2know in addition to a number of other impressive corporate posts. He’s been quoted repeatedly by leading media outlets including CNN, The New York Times, the Associated Press, and Reuters, just to name a few. Alvaro Fernandez is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s “Global Agenda Councils” initiative, has published numerous acclaimed articles, as well as enjoys teaching The Science of Brain Health and Brain Fitness at both SFSU and UC-Berkeley.

Out of the fog blog

As would any on-the-ball website, SharpBrains too provides its viewers with a blog covering the wide spectrum of mental fitness issues including what’s in store for the brain fitness biz in the not-too-distant-future. “We can observe a number of trends that executives, consumers, public policy makers, and the media should watch closely in the coming years, as brain fitness and training becomes mainstream, new tools appear, and an ecosystem grows around it.”

Steve Daitch is the Social Media Manager at Mind360.com – a leading scientific brain training games developer for boosting your memory, attention, executive functions, reasoning, and other key cognitive skills. As a Mind360 visitor you simply select your own Personal Training Program, which comes complete with a personal coach and constant feedback to ensure your swift and visible progress.

All grown up and slipping mentally? Fear not. Help is, well, already here.

As more so-called “brain fitness programs” hit this expanding market, both online and off, additional forms of cognitive training programs and various brain exercises are fast taking shape. Of the more reputable players getting into the brain health game is the American Senior Fitness Association (SFA) with their recently launched comprehensive educational program developed with senior fitness professionals in mind.

Brain Fitness for Older Adults

This unique and practical mental fitness program now enables senior physical activity professionals to promote better cognitive health throughout their senior exercise programs by adding innovative brain fitness exercises to their older clients’ current physical activities. Indeed, the times they are a-changin’.

Fitness Food for Thought

Comprehensive is the best way to describe this reader-friendly, illustrated correspondence course, as the list of mental issues covered are mind boggling to say the least. As far as aging brain fitness programs go, this latest SFA initiative appears to go even further, promising (and delivering) a generous dose of valuable information on brain exercises including:

*Brain anatomy and physiology
*Cognitive functioning
*The aging brain
*Links between physical exercise and memory
*The role of mental stimulation in cognitive health
*Social and psycho-emotional influences on cognition
*Activities for promoting senior brain fitness programs

Smart AND Sexy Brain Exercises

The course’s well thought out materials come complete with three in-depth training guides, a 90-minute DVD documentary film, plus a CD-ROM providing 25 client handouts, one for every activity plan. The 42-page “Key Points and Historical Highlights” covers a host of aging brain fitness topics including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. What’s more, students passing the program’s post-test will also earn their professional certificate as an American Senior Fitness Association Cognitive Fitness Facilitator.

According to one satisfied professional familiar with brain exercises, the course “ties together, in a scientifically supported manner, the aspects of physical and mental learning that can occur when fitness training is properly applied - both for the beginning and experienced trainer.”

Priced at $249 plus $15 S&H, the SFA’s Brain Fitness Program for Older Adults is well worth paying particular attention to.

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Steve Daitch is the Social Media Manager at Mind360.com – a leading scientific brain training games developer for improving your Memory, Attention, Executive Functions, Reasoning, and other vital cognitive skills. Your personal trainer also provides constant feedback to help you progress quickly.

Tired of trying to remember where you left your keys? Tired of running behind schedule because you couldn’t find your wallet? Well, the time has come to react fast again, to shake your brain up and use it the way you’re used to. The time has come to play games that will exercise your brain the fun way.

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