Many of us who want to make our brains sharper, more creative and more focussed will have considered using brain training software at some time or other. These are essentially apps and small pieces of software – normally games – that force you to think outside the box, to think quickly, or to maintain focus. And in doing that, these games each force you to hone and develop that ability to the point where you’ll be quicker and more creative when you need to be in a real setting. That’s the idea anyway, and it’s a great way to improve your health by using technology.
But then studies show that these brain training games have a problem. The biggest of these problems is that games like this have been shown in studies not to significantly improve your brain power. That’s not to say they’re useless, it’s just that they only train your brain in this single very precise context. In other words, if you play a brain training game that tells you to quickly shoot birds as they appear on the screen, then your brain will develop… in order to allow you to better shoot birds that appear on the screen. These skills will only be very marginally transferable to other areas of your life.
Making matters worse though is the fact that other activities can actually build your brain up more in a less restricted manner. And some of these are things you would do on the computer anyway! So why spend lots of money and time on a brain training game, when you can get the same effect from working or playing?
Read on and we’ll look at some of the better ways a computer can be used to get more out of your brain.
Games
So a brain training game will make you better at holding attention, better at responding quickly and better abstract thinking? Well maybe… but no more so than playing a game like Sonic the Hedgehog or COD. That’s right: any computer game can have hugely impressive impacts on your brain power and improve things like visual acuity, special awareness, memory and much more. Why play a boring game when you can just play something you actually want to play and get the same benefits?
Learning
Some people say that using the computer to read the web is bad for our attention spans. That it may be, but apparently it has enhanced our ability to quickly take in lots of information which is a very good thing. Want to improve your brain immensely? Then learn a new language for huge benefits. And this is something you can do relatively easily and well with a computer and the web.
Lifestyle
Computers can be used to improve our lifestyle. There are apps out there that can do all kinds of things to make our lives easier, and failing that we can just use the web to find services and products that will help us. You can make your house cleaner with cleaning services and <a href=”http://www.pestico.ca/services/bed-bugs”>pest control</a>. Bed bugs don’t help you sleep and that doesn’t help you to work well the next day or cement memories. Likewise computers can organise your day, set reminders and more so that you can rest your brain when not in use.
Programming
Programming is incredibly good for the brain as it challenges you to think abstractly and to be creative while using a symbolic language. You can also similarly use the computer for writing which is very good for your brain, and really any of the work you do on your PC is going to benefit your brain too.
Most important though is that you keep challenging yourself to do new things: which is highly important if you want to prevent your cognition getting rusty. Keep learning new things, taking on new projects and playing new games. Your brain will be forced to stay limber and you’ll notice marked differences in your cognitive function – far more so than spending hours on brain training games.
