As we grow older, our minds and bodies undergo multiple changes. It’s our job to keep them healthy and functional.
Many studies have long shown that physical exercise improves cognitive function and thus, keeps your brain wired. Engaging in physical activity is good for the body while stimulating the mind is great for your brain. The mind-body connection is therefore crucial in attaining cognitive balance and helping you thrive.
To prevent aging and keep your mind sharp, check out these top seven learning games. As I mentioned, engaging in daily play improves cognitive function, boosts memory, and increases focus. Let’s see how you can make that happen.
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BrainHQ
This is a learning game that exercises your brain and works your cognitive function. Some people consider BrainHQ some type of a personal mind gym, where you can train your brain muscles to function better.
Others see it as a necessary activity to improve memory, attention, reaction speed, and overall intelligence. We must train our brains to keep them functional and in shape, and this app provides the right tools for that.
Another great thing about BrainHQ is that the app’s programs will fit your exact needs. You can personalize the training sessions to fit your life – the levels that the app will take you through will be configured according to your pace.
While some of the games are fun to play, others use special algorithms to work your brain, all depending on your needs and preferences. In the end, you can’t perform and reach goals without training at your optimum level.
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Braingle
If you’re not great at solving puzzles and problems, here’s your chance to reshape your mind. Braingle is a great brain teaser! The website offers access to trivia quizzes, mentalrobics, games, and puzzles of all kinds. All you have to do is sign up and then, get free access to all of these online resources. I’ll walk you through some of the coolest activities you’ll find here:
- Brain teasers such as logic problems, enigmas, and puzzles to entangle your mind
- Optical illusions that’ll enhance the connection between the eye and the mind for better coordination
- Puzzles for a bigger challenge
- Trivia quizzes that’ll take you across a wide range of topics
- Fact boxes that will help improve your knowledge of various subjects
- Photo, celebrity, and famous art quizzes
- Activities to improve your creativity, vocabulary, and memory
- Activities to help you manage stress
- IQ tests that will calculate your personal score and measure your level of intelligence
- Strategy games, card games, paper & pencil games
You can rate each activity individually once you finished it. That can help the Braingle community get access to better games and improved activities!
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Sudoku
This is quite a popular game so, if you’re already a Sudoku fan, skip this part. But if you’re not, here’s your chance to learn something exciting. Sudoku is a numbers game where you must follow trails to get to the desired result. If your brain isn’t working quickly enough to catch strategical details, your game ends and you lose.
In Sudoku, there are some specific rules to follow. First, you can only use the number 1-9. Second, you cannot repeat any numbers in a 9-box square. You will use deductive reasoning and elimination to figure which numbers are missing from each box. In Sudoku, you cannot guess.
The idea of the game is simple, and a bit of practice will get you used to these rules. According to studies at the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Sudoku can keep your brain young, engaged, and improve your cognitive function.
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Wordle
If you’re trying to improve your vocabulary, Wordle is the game for you. It works quite simply, but the game itself is definitely not as simple as it seems. As a player, your goal is to build words with only the six letters that the app’s giving you. Each word is rated as more or less difficult. The more difficult words you form, the higher your score. Remember that you have to fill in all the available slots to finish one game round.
These words are generated by a word cloud, so the app works best on a Mac or Windows computer instead of your smartphone. There is a web version available also, if you want to explore it before downloading it.
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SharpBrains
SharpBrains offers several activities one could choose from, from brain teasers to puzzles and other interactive cognitive games. Their website includes access to various resources. Users can get access to articles, books, checklists, and newsletters by accessing the SharpBrains website.
The brain teasers webpage helps you get a better understanding of how your brain works. Here are just some of the activities you could try out:
- The Stroop Test to evaluate color and word recognition
- Attention experiments that will test your focus
- Stress level tests
- Identifying logos to boost memory and recognition
- Optical illusion games to test your mind
- Mental rotation challenges
- Language and logic mind teasers, such as Where is the bus heading?
- Visual workouts such as How many…. or Is a circle a circle?
- Pattern recognition exercises to boost your memory and reasoning skills such as The Blind Beggar or The Empty Triangle
- Puzzles to help you make quicker connections
- Brain teasers for employees such as guesstimations or Consider Linda’s job prospects
You could attend SharpBrain virtual summits and pitch contests to test your skills, explore pervasive neurotechnology or track your digital brain health. Access the website and you’ll find everything you need there.
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Happy Neuron
With Happy Neuron, you can work on improving five different cognitive areas of your brain, including attention, executive function, memory, visual/spatial cognition, and language. The app is designed by scientists to train your memory, stimulate focus, work your reactivity, and challenge your logic.
As with any professional cognitive program, Happy Neuron is personalized according to your needs. It adapts these needs with training sessions that fit your preferences. The app offers games selected according to your cognitive profile, guidance on your strengths, weaknesses, and how to explore them, and adapts to your natural flow and ability to fulfill tasks.
You could also get access to a progressive program consisting of a warm-up, training, and maintaining practices, depending on your goals. Unfortunately, the app is only available for Android users, but their website could be used by anyone.
You could enjoy this app as a therapist as well. Happy Neurons provides access to digital therapy tools that engage patients to interact more. These exercises train specific brain regions and thus, help patients heal faster. s
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Queendom
Queendom is a hub of personality tests and interactive surveys. Depending on the path you’re picking, you’ll progress in different areas. As a user, you’ll get access to scientifically developed tests, fun quizzes, mind-stretchers, trivia quizzes, polls, life tips, therapists or coaches, and blog articles.
Queendom is also offering you access to a wide variety of brain tools such as aptitude tests and logic and verbal puzzles to develop your cognition. You can save your test scores and re-take them later to see if you’ve improved.
Other brain exercises that will keep your mind in shape
Here are some other exercises that could train your mind and improve cognition. You don’t need access to a computer for these ones.
- Play a Jigsaw puzzle to improve your visuospatial abilities
- Play card games to stimulate your memory and thinking skills, such as solitaire, hearts, crazy eights, gin rummy, etc.
- Build your own vocabulary by carrying a notebook and writing down unfamiliar words that you’ll look up later
- Dance, dance, dance! Research at the CDC has shown that dancing can improve brain function, so take a Zumba class, learn salsa, or watch online videos and repeat the dances’ moves!
- Make sure you’re engaging all of your senses every day. Cook to smell, walk to watch, try a new coffee shop to taste, etc. Don’t forget to breathe!
- Learn new skills that you’ve always wanted to learn!
- Teach someone else your favorite skills. Explaining this concept to someone else will help you correct your own mistakes and master your skillset even better.
- Listen to music, as it boosts your cognitive abilities. A study conducted in 2017 suggests that listening to happy music can boost innovative thinking. So, give your brain a boost right now! Play some happy tunes!
- Engaging in a meditation routine can help you with your daily tasks. You’ll be more focused, patient, and creative. Meditation is an amazing tool for improving memory and reducing anxiety.
- Learn a new language. A study from 2012 shows that speaking multiple languages improves your cognitive abilities and boosts multitasking.
Conclusion
With such increased access to technology, you can easily shape your mind now and improve your cognitive abilities. Try playing all of the above games and then, check out the proposed activities. Keep your mind and body pumped up to live a long, healthy life! Good luck!
Author Bio:
Emma Coffinet produces content for websites, blogs, articles, white papers, and social media platforms. She offers college essay help and is keen on capturing the attention of a target audience. To get access to Emma’s college essay writing service webpage, feel free to connect with her on Twitter.