If historians are correct, the ancient Babylonians, one of the earliest civilized societies, practiced the art of the New Year's resolution. To this day, cultures around the world use the turning of the year as a time to reflect on what's past while looking to the future. This New Year more people than ever before will be making brain fitness training their top resolution.
Many tried and true resolutions take us in the direction of better brain health – physical exercise, dieting, and quitting smoking. But brain training provides a direct and positive approach by which we can stimulate brain plasticity, improving memory, focus, and mental agility. One study published this past year even recorded increases in fluid intelligence for subjects who underwent demanding working-memory training.
A mounting body of research disproves the long-held assumption that the adult brain can't grow and change. Study after study has found that it's possible to stimulate new neural growth and for the brain to rewire existing connections to adapt to new conditions. Brain exercise harnesses these concepts so that we can refresh and sharpen our mental processes.
The Advantages of Brain Fitness Training
Education & Problem-Solving: If you're due to take a standardized test this year, brain training should be part of your test preparation. Established test prep techniques can improve your test scores, but brain training can also increase your general problem-solving ability. And if you suffer from a learning dysfunction, you should know that many learning specialists now use brain exercises to help strengthen particular brain capacities, such as working-memory. While an accommodation can get you through, brain training can tackle the problem directly.
Career: For many of us, the working day requires a good deal of focus and creative problem-solving. Our brains work best when we can dedicate time and attention to the task at hand, but the stresses and demands of the workplace often conspire to make this almost impossible. The right brain training program can help us increase our attention span and train our cognitive skills. By training our brain we can reduce work stress and perform better (something that employers tend to notice and reward).
Long-Term Mental Health And Well-Being: Unless we do something to stop it, by age 40 our brains have begun to decline. With regular mental exercise, however, we can reduce or eliminate memory loss, and lower our risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms and dementia. Researchers have even found that depression responds to the kind of stimulated neural growth that brain training can induce.
Self-Improvement: Quite apart from the self-improvement goal of thinking more sharply, brain exercise can also bring about changes that may seem unlikely – such as improved musical ability and increased self-esteem. But when we consider that the brain orchestrates all aspects of thinking and emotion this begins to seem less unusual. If you're the kind of person who likes to optimize mind, body, and spirit, brain training could open up a whole new realm of possibilities.
Making The Resolution Stick
Unfortunately, statistics indicate that most of us won't stick to our New Year's resolutions. Men tend to do much better if they quantify their goals. And women can increase their chances of success by going public and by engaging their friends in the challenge. Fortunately, since many people enjoy the challenge and rewards of brain training, it can be an easier activity to stay with than some. You can measure your progress through the results of the exercises, and in many cases you can share your scores on some form of blog or social network.
The brain training marketplace can be a little confusing at first. There are many products out there and it's not always clear which ones work. Some training programs provide don't require much focus and attention and won't stimulate brain plasticity. Others might work extremely well but cost several hundred dollars and demand a significant time commitment.
It's important to verify a program's scientific basis. The vendor should state clearly what improvements the program will bring about and in what time period. And the product should come with a training schedule that will help you judge whether it is right for you.
A brain exercise resolution will reward in equal measure to the effort we invest. Just as we don't expect to stay physically fit without breaking a sweat – so, too, a truly effective brain training program requires our attention and diligence. The rewards to our mental ability, health, and happiness, however, will repay every ounce of that investment.
Oxford-trained scientist, author, and technologist, Martin G. Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. His company Mind Evolve Software publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training as well as effective and affordable brain training software under the brand name Mind Sparke.
Article Source: Brain Training – The Smart Resolution