Although historians trace the origin of New Year's resolutions to the ancient Babylonians, the most apt historical symbol for the tradition is probably the Roman god Janus, his two faces looking back over past events and forward to the future. Where have we come from and where would we like to go. With an exciting new leap forward in the capabilities of brain training programs over the past year, this is the perfect time to make brain exercise our New Year's resolution.
Many of the traditional favorites - losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking, to name a few - already move us in the direction of better brain health. Brain training takes us a big step further by fostering brain plasticity, a state that we can use to improve our memory, concentration, and mental acuity while helping to stave off the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms and early dementia.
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.
Brain Training Benefits
Academics & Problem-Solving: If you're applying to college or graduate school, you can make brain training part of your pre-test regimen. Traditional test preparation only helps with the tests being taken, but appropriate brain training can increase thinking ability for testing and for your eventual program of study. If you have a learning dysfunction, brain exercise may be able to help correct it. Accommodations work around a disability, whereas brain exercise tackles it head-on.
Job Success: Many jobs nowadays involve processing information and solving tricky problems, demanding a high degree of mental focus. Ironically, the daily blizzard of e-mails, meetings and phone calls make it extremely difficult to find and maintain that focus. By using brain training to increase our attention span and train our cognitive skills we can increase our level of productivity and effectiveness in the workplace, enhancing our earning potential.
Mental Health And Well-Being: When we reach our forties, our brains begin to decline if we don't do anything to prevent it. But a regular schedule of brain training helps reduce memory loss, and lowers our risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms and dementia. Not only that, but recent studies indicate that we can combat depression through stimulating neural growth, an important aspect of an effective brain training program.
Self-Improvement: Although we would expect brain training to help us think more clearly, it's not as well known that brain training can improve our self-esteem and even our musical aptitude. But the brain commands all aspects of thinking and emotion, even those not directly related to quantitative thinking. For those on a journey toward improved mind, body, and spirit, brain training offers a new world of possibilities.
Sticking With Your New Resolution
Studies have shown that the odds don't favor resolution success. Fewer than 15% of us will follow through on our New Year's resolutions. However, men can increase their chances of success by setting measurable targets and milestones. And women do better if they make their goals public and engage their friends in helping them keep to their resolutions. Brain training perhaps has an advantage over some resolutions in that it can become a little addictive by creating self-competition. It also lends itself to measurable targets if the training program records our stats, and to public goals if it allows us to track our scores through an on-line community.
Before starting your brain training regimen, be sure to select a brain-training program that is proven to promote brain plasticity and will fit into your schedule. Since the brain fitness market is relatively new, price isn't a particularly good gauge of effectiveness. Some programs provide brain games that don't require significant focus and attention and won't stimulate new nerve cell growth. Others 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.
Many of the traditional favorites - losing weight, exercising, quitting smoking, to name a few - already move us in the direction of better brain health. Brain training takes us a big step further by fostering brain plasticity, a state that we can use to improve our memory, concentration, and mental acuity while helping to stave off the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms and early dementia.
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.
Brain Training Benefits
Academics & Problem-Solving: If you're applying to college or graduate school, you can make brain training part of your pre-test regimen. Traditional test preparation only helps with the tests being taken, but appropriate brain training can increase thinking ability for testing and for your eventual program of study. If you have a learning dysfunction, brain exercise may be able to help correct it. Accommodations work around a disability, whereas brain exercise tackles it head-on.
Job Success: Many jobs nowadays involve processing information and solving tricky problems, demanding a high degree of mental focus. Ironically, the daily blizzard of e-mails, meetings and phone calls make it extremely difficult to find and maintain that focus. By using brain training to increase our attention span and train our cognitive skills we can increase our level of productivity and effectiveness in the workplace, enhancing our earning potential.
Mental Health And Well-Being: When we reach our forties, our brains begin to decline if we don't do anything to prevent it. But a regular schedule of brain training helps reduce memory loss, and lowers our risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms and dementia. Not only that, but recent studies indicate that we can combat depression through stimulating neural growth, an important aspect of an effective brain training program.
Self-Improvement: Although we would expect brain training to help us think more clearly, it's not as well known that brain training can improve our self-esteem and even our musical aptitude. But the brain commands all aspects of thinking and emotion, even those not directly related to quantitative thinking. For those on a journey toward improved mind, body, and spirit, brain training offers a new world of possibilities.
Sticking With Your New Resolution
Studies have shown that the odds don't favor resolution success. Fewer than 15% of us will follow through on our New Year's resolutions. However, men can increase their chances of success by setting measurable targets and milestones. And women do better if they make their goals public and engage their friends in helping them keep to their resolutions. Brain training perhaps has an advantage over some resolutions in that it can become a little addictive by creating self-competition. It also lends itself to measurable targets if the training program records our stats, and to public goals if it allows us to track our scores through an on-line community.
Before starting your brain training regimen, be sure to select a brain-training program that is proven to promote brain plasticity and will fit into your schedule. Since the brain fitness market is relatively new, price isn't a particularly good gauge of effectiveness. Some programs provide brain games that don't require significant focus and attention and won't stimulate new nerve cell growth. Others 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.
About the Author:
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 fitness software under the brand name Mind Sparke.
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