The Online Brain Games BlogI came across this great article today on how to beef up our brain without shrinking our wallets. The article gave sound and tested advice that I felt was worth sharing with you. Many of the ideas presented (like playing online brain games) have been shown to cut the risk of dementia, and some by as much as 75 percent! You can find the entire article and read more about this by clicking here..
I recently came across a website called Neuroscience For Kids that I believe you will find extremely interesting and informative. At first I though it was primarily an online brain game site for kids, but what I found there was much, much more. According to the website author Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D:
“Neuroscience for Kids” is intended to be a resource for anyone who is interested in learning about the nervous system.
At the site there is a page called “Explore”. The table of contents listed on that page gives you a glimpse of what you will find there.
Table of contents
* The World of Neuroscience
* Brain Basics
* Higher Functions
* Spinal Cord
* Peripheral Nervous System
* The Neuron
* Sensory Systems
* Methods and Techniques
* Drug Effects
* Neurological and Mental Disorders
The site provides a wealth of information about our brain and how it functions. It is well written and relatively easy to understand. However, don’t let the title throw you – I’d say the age level of the material is at about high school level.
I did find some online brain games at the site on a page called “Experiment”. I’ve added this link to my Free Brain Games page.
If your at all the least bit curious about how our brain functions, then I suggest you go check out Neuroscience For Kids.
People often turn to brain games in order to beef up their mental clarity, memory, etc. This is especially true for the growing number of baby boomers out there. Indeed, brain games are a fun and useful way to exercise your brain. Most such brain games can easily be found and played for free at online sites. But let me introduce to you a form of brain game you’ve probably never thought of. This form of brain game is called neurobics and it too can be played for free – and you don’t even have to connect to the internet to play!
Now if you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know I’ve written about neurobics before. Some time ago I wrote about how walking backwards and writing with your opposite hand can beef up your brain. These are just two examples of what is now being called neurobic exercise. Neurobics is a fun way to give your brain exercise. That’s why I call it a new form of brain game.
According to a recent book I read called Keep Your Brain Alive, by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., an activity becomes neurobic when it:
Besides the two examples given above, other examples of neurobic exericses would be:
What happens in your brain when you do these activities in such a novel way is that dormant or new associations (brain cell connections) in your brain get activated. When you close your eyes for instance when doing a task, your brain must rely more heavily on other senses not normally used for that given task. Your sense of touch, smell, and hearing will come into play to a greater degree than would normally be required. By activating and using those brain connections you strengthen them. Not only that, but by doing so you activate your brain cells’ neurotrophin production, which strengthens other brain connections nearby. This results in the strengthening your brain as a whole and building what’s called a cognitive reserve, or safety net. And the more mental reserves that people build up, experts believe, the better they can stave off age-related cognitive decline.
So go check out the book which I highly recommend called Keep Your Brain Alive listed below in the resource section of this post. You might find it in your local library as I did. In it you will learn 83 different neurobic exercises (or brain games as I like to call them) you can do just about anywhere.
Resources:
Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises
‘Neurobics’ and Other Brain Boosters
Is playing Nintendo brain age games any better at improving your brain than say a pencil and paper? A recent article in the Times Online website claims that the pencil and paper is just as good. They base this claim on results of a study done on a group of ten year olds.
A 10p pencil is just as good as a £100 Nintendo at stimulating the memory, according to a study that dismisses the DS Lite’s claims to boost the brain.
Professor Lieury said that helping one’s children with their homework, reading, playing Scrabble or Su Doku or watching documentaries instead of soap operas matched or beat the console.
Alvaro Fernandez over at Sharp Brains wrote a great response to this Times article. He points out the many inaccuracies found in the article. He also pointed out that our brains need novelty, variety and challenge in order to stay fit. These things depend greatly of course on who we are and what we do. A crossword puzzle might be something new and challenging for one person, but not for another. The same can be said about a brain game like the ds Nintendo brain age game. So when it comes to brain training, the key is variety, novelty and level of mental challenge it provides you specifically. This is the same whether the tool being used is a pencil, paper or a brain game.
So, will playing Nintendo Brain Age Games do you any good? Well, I guess that depends on who you are and what you do. 
Resources:
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
