The Online Brain Games Blog
What puts you at risk for Alzheimer’s disease? How can you prevent this killer? Based on the results of a four-year study of the medical research literature on Alzheimer s prevention, this video shows the key strategies of prevention. Simple, inexpensive, and easy, they work to prevent Alzheimer’s and more!
Duration : 0:3:53
Our minds and bodies need sleep. Prolonged sleep deprivation has been shown to kill rats, flies, cockroaches and even humans.
Scientists have discovered that one of the many benefits sleep has is in memory improvement. In rats, certain brain cells that activate during their daytime exploration tend to reactivate during sleep. Scientists speculate that during sleep the brain reenacts waking activity in order to lay down lasting memories.
In humans, one particular study looked at memory recall with and without sleep. Forty-eight people between the ages of 18 and 30 took part in the study. All groups were taught the same 20 pairs of words in the initial training session. One group was taught the word pairings at 9 a.m. and then tested at 9 p.m. after 12 hours of being awake. Another group was taught the word pairs at 9 p.m. and then was tested at 9 a.m. after a good nights sleep. The study found that people who slept after learning the information performed best, successfully recalling more words than those who had not had sleep prior to being tested.
So, how much sleep is really required to keep our memory sharp?
“Long” sleepers who slumber more than eight hours a night and “short” sleepers who get fewer than seven hours of shuteye both report more sleep complaints than people who sleep in the “just right” zone of seven to eight hours, say Michael A. Grandner, B.A., and Daniel F. Kripke, M.D., of the University of California, San Diego. Their study appears in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. “Although it is unclear why long and short sleepers should have similar types of sleep complaints, these data challenge the assumption that more than seven or eight hours of sleep is associated with increased health and well-being,” Grandner says.
What can you do if you don’t get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep? Take a power nap! The video below describes how taking a nap can help our memory.
The main point here is to make sure you get between 7-8 hours of sleep in order to keep our brains in top shape. If you you get less than 7 hours, feel free to take a nap!
To further improve your memory, click here to play free online memory games.
Cogolog is an online memory games website. The site is free to join and contains 14 different memory games and promises to add more over time. The site keeps track of your progress via graphical line charts. I’ve spent time playing the games myself and can attest that they are both fun and addictive – as are most good brain games.
The following was taken from their home page and gives you some additional information about the site.
Cogolog.com is a unique place to learn about the power of your brain. The tests presented here focus on memory performance. More tests are on the way… Bowles-Langley Technology, Inc. “BLT” provides a range of cognitive testing services for industry and the medical profession. The company’s alertness testing system for workers in hazardous occupations is an industry standard. BLT research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. There is no charge for the use of our tests and exercises on this site.
I definitely suggest you give the online memory games at Cogolog a try by clicking here. Your brain will thank you for it!
This online memory games site has been added to the Free Online Brain Games and Game Sites post which can be located by clicking here. There you will find numerous links to many more free online brain games.
Does everybody’s memory fade as they get older? Not necessarily, according to psychologist Dr. Cynthia Green, author of Total Memory Workout. Here are steps you can take to keep your memory sharp.
Duration : 0:3:28
