Mind360 Blog

Get this: Mind360’s beta brain training website was launched only a couple of weeks ago and already the feedback has been very telling. Very! And in a good way. True, there have been reports of a few bugs to work out. But who doesn’t have a few bugs to work out?

What’s been most surprising, however, and pleasantly so, is the repeated use by feedback senders of the word ‘addictive’ - and its various forms including ‘addicitive.’ Below are just some of these real-life comments submitted by real-life people:

“love the brick breaking game. it is so addictive.”

“addictive games, but is it a compliment ?” [We’d say it is.]

“This is the most addicting game I’ve ever played.”

“Nice one!! Addicitive…..”

“Completely addicted!”

Need we say more?

Well, yes. You see, Mind360’s games were intentionally designed to be played on a regular daily basis, and for only a mere 10-minutes-a-day. Believe it or not, that’s all it takes to actually feel your brain taking shape, as plenty of other brain training game providers will also attest to.

Life in the Fast Thinking Lane

Of course there’s absolutely no harm in playing to your heart’s - or mind’s - content. But just in case there are any serial suers out there, you’ll understand our need to publish this disclaimer:

WARNING:
Playing brain games for too long can be hazardous to your social life.

Brain Training Free-for-All

Go ahead and treat yourself to Mind360’s online brain training games now, while they’re still free. Already this beta site features six cutting-edge games developed by cognitive scientists. Oh and relax; if you’re going get addicted to something, anything… it might as well be for a good cause, like you, for instance.

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.

With so many brain training game providers out there claiming to help improve your cognitive abilities, it’s hard to know which ones actually work, and if so, to what degree. But if there’s one thing most experts agree on, it is that challenging your brain to virtually any ‘workout’ is always a worthwhile exercise, and certainly can’t hurt.

Simply put, it all comes down to “using it or losing it.” But for brain training to be truly effective, especially over the long term, each person requires a personal training program designed to meet his or her individual needs. In other words, one size does not fit all.

Brain Games vs. Brain Training Games

What’s more, once a personal training program has been selected, it is imperative that the games prescribed are not merely brain games, or teasers, as the overwhelming majority on today’s market are, but rather scientifically designed brain ‘training’ games that deliver actual results.

Moreover, just as a professional athlete focuses on training particular physical skills and muscles individually, (i.e. a tennis player’s serve, forehand and backhand strokes, running etc.), another key to successful brain training requires focusing on a single cognitive area at a time, and within certain time limits.

Staying in Touch Requires Staying in Touch

Whether it’s training your memory, attention, executive functions, or other key cognitive abilities, new evidence is surfacing virtually everyday with respect to what works… and what doesn’t. Stay tuned to Mind360.com as we provide further ‘How to’ information on ways to effectively train your brain and improve your overall mental fitness for healthier day-to-day living.

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.

Get this, according to a study completed by University of Virginia Professor, Timothy Salthouse, our reasoning, thinking speed and spatial visualization all begin taking a turn for the worse as early as when we’re in our late twenties. In other words, old is the new young.

The study, conducted over a 7-year period and published in Rochester New York’s Neurobiology of Aging journal, involved 2,000 healthy people ranging in age between 18 and 60. Participants in the mental agility tests were asked to solve puzzles, recall certain words and story details, as well as identify patterns in letters and various symbols. The same tests, incidentally, are already conducted by doctors in order to identify signs of dementia.

Go Figure… While You Still Can

In nine out of twelve tests the average age at which the highest results were achieved was 22. In tests focused on brain speed, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability, 27 was the age at which any decline was first noticeable.

The results from the study also indicate that skills based on accumulated knowledge, such as vocabulary and general information, continue to increase until age 60.

What to do? What to do?

So what action can you take now to prevent senility from setting in before you’re 30 and over the hill? Well, there are increasingly more studies also claiming that you can not only slow down the onset of cognitive decline, but quite possibly even reverse the ageing process. (Naturally Mind360’s brain training games come to mind.)

What’s clear is that whatever course of action you choose in order to combat cognitve decline and ensure you remain ‘young at mind’ longer, it’s important that you begin asap. In other words, get a head start. Literally.

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.

The question on increasingly more people’s minds is: Do brain training games actually work?

According to a group of leading scientists recently organized by consumer watchdog Which? [the company name actually includes the '?'], Nintendo’s massively popular Brain Training game is “useless at helping players improve their memories.”

“If people enjoy using these games, then they should continue to do so – that’s a no-brainer,” says Which? editor Martyn Hocking. “But if people are under the illusion that these devices are scientifically proven to keep their minds in shape, they need to think again.”

There are brain games, and then there are…

Indeed the jury is still out regarding a number of claims made by regular brain game developers. But as more innovators like Mind360 attempt to meet the rapidly growing demand for brain games that actually train your cognitive skills, such as memory and executive functions, just to name a few, what’s important to keep in mind is that, at the end of the day, users will have the final say as to which games work and which are merely fun to play. 
 
 

This Valentine’s Day, why not turn your lover on to Speed Dating? No, we’re not suggesting you set your partner wild and free to frolic among the swinging singles scene. That would be stupid, cupid. We’re talking about Mind360’s new brain training game designed to help you improve your spatial and visual memory.

Valentines Galore

How Speed Dating works your mind is simple. You’re the matchmaker and your mission is to accurately match as many speed daters as you can. By rotating the different hair colored daters, whenever you’ve got a match, you simple click and presto, you’ve created a match made in Valentine’s Day heaven.

Be My Speed Dating Valentine

As you advance with every successful round, you improve your attention, memory and spatial visual perception. There are also plenty of laughs in store, such as butterflies crashing the party and other tricks designed to throw you off. But what’s really valuable - and often amusing - is the feedback Speed Dating provides you with at every turn to help guide your progress. This beloved brain training game is simply smart and fun!

The Valentine’s Gift That Keeps Giving

So this year, instead of sending those traditional Valentines Day gifts like cards (save the trees), chocolates (fattening and sweet), or flowers (they die), be a saint and give the gift of healthier, happier living: Speed Dating. Oh and did we mention it’s free? (Somebody here can use more memory training.)

And while you’re at it, why not be your own Valentine and love yourself that much more by improving your own spatial and visual perception skills with the help of Speed Dating. Go ahead and play to your heart (and mind’s) content. You’ll not only be showing yourself a good time, but you’re sure to feel better about yourself the next day as well, and every day after that for the rest of your new and improved life.

Wishing you a Happy & Healthier Valentines Day!

Your Mind360 team

 
 
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.