Lumosity is a Playground for my Brain
Posted by Gail | Filed under Gail Pleasures
Alex has been picking on me recently, calling me “cheesecloth brain” because I tend to be a bit forgetful. Truth be known, if I don’t write it down it falls off my list faster than a politician’s promise disappears after election day.
I have the kind of brain that craves new. I love to play games. And there are some definite slow spots in my processor. So when Alex recommended that I sign up for Lumosity.com, I had a look.
I was initially appalled at how bad I was on so many of the “games” designed to keep my brain sharp. But here’s the thing. The more I played, the better I got at them. No surprise really, right? Except that my thinking got sharper too.
The games on Lumosity are designed to help you build up your adaptivity and brain resilience, along with memory and fluidity. The games are engaging and novel, with tasks increasing in challenge as you move through the program.
When I first started playing the memory game where you had to click on where the boxes had been, I could never get past seven. Since seven is the magic number for short-term memory, I was a little surprised when I managed nine. Alex has made it all the way to 12… once.
There are math games (simple addition, subtraction and multiplication), games to make you more aware of what’s going on around you, and word games.
I’ve always used games to help me think more clearly. When I have to write, I often do my research first then spend a couple of hours playing computer games to give my subconscious time to work out the story. Then I write. I’m faster that way. And I can produce huge amounts of stuff because I let my brain work it all out in background.
I used to play a lot of mindless stuff on Facebook. I still like those mindless games that allow my brain to focus on the story I’m next going to have to write. But now I switch it up and I head over to Lumosity and put my brain to work to grease the wheels.
Whether you play games online, do the crossword puzzle every day, or persist your way through a tough Sudoku, spend a little time every day challenging your brain and watch it rise to the challenge!
Your turn: How do you keep your brain sharp? Are games a part of your life?
September 12, 2012 at 5:01 am
It is my understanding that practice and games don’t make your brain better. They make you better at the game.
As for techniques to help you remember I found the book “Moonwalking with Einstien” to be both educational and fun. It uses the memory technique of turning (in your mind) what you want to remember into an image and putting in a place like your house in your imagination.
For example; you want to remember a grocery list; Dish soap, smoked salmon, and laundry detergent. I would turn the dishsoap into an image of a bottle of dish soap angrily scrubbing squalling dishes in the bathtub of the upstairs bathroom. The smoked salmon is on the kitchen table blowing raspberries at a group of kittens trying to jump onto the kitchen table. The laundry detergent is an empty bottle being held by begging bedsheets.
September 12, 2012 at 6:25 am
I find both games and exercise help. If I go for a week without either, my productivity goes downhill fast….not to mention the crankiness. I havent tried lumosity …..yet….soduko is my go – to game but I might just take a look at it now.
September 12, 2012 at 7:04 am
I’m helping a neighbour landscape her yard. We have no power tools, excavator or chainsaw, one wheelbarrow, half an acre and a few wasp’s nests. There are 5 kids under 6 between the both of us to watch so our brains are quite sharp at the moment. And exhausted.
September 12, 2012 at 8:11 am
I do at least one crossword and sudoku everyday in the newspaper. I read two or three books a week, mixing in challenging books with more recreational ones. I work out two or three times a week which really helps my brain as well as my body.
September 12, 2012 at 8:36 am
One of my greatest fears is losing my brain power. I read something interesting the other day that inferred your brain shrinks as you gain weight. yiles!! I read to keep my brain active (anywhere from 1 to 6 books a week and play computer games. I’ll take a look at Lumosity.
September 12, 2012 at 10:08 am
I think I would be more interested in these types of games if I wasn’t continuing to take classes. I have been taking some part time university classes since 2010, so I think that has been keeping my brain busy enough for the time being! I am also lucky in my work (though I am currently on mat leave) that every new project you do there is always something new to learn. I definitely agree though, that sometimes letting a problem simmer in the background accomplishes more in the long run than beating against the wall. As one other poster mentioned exercise is also good for this.
September 12, 2012 at 10:14 am
I’m attempting to learn Mandarin Chinese. It’s music, art, math and memory all in one. So far, very little is sticking, but after a year, I’m not ready to give up on it yet. Plus it’s a lot of fun to see the looks when I greet Mandarin speakers in their native language.
I’m not taking formal classes. I play around on websites and with books, and then have my Mainland Chinese friend correct my hilarious mistakes!
September 12, 2012 at 11:02 am
I don’t know why, but if there’s no purpose or concrete accomplishement, I can’t seem to want to do something.
I’m not much of a gamer, but to keep my brain working I learn a new language.
About 30 min of german radio or a german text for kids.
Plus, I feel really great when I understand more and more.
September 12, 2012 at 1:14 pm
“Jennifer Says:
September 12, 2012 at 5:01 am
It is my understanding that practice and games don’t make your brain better. They make you better at the game.”
I think the commercial said that its trying to encourage Plasicity. That’s where you are trying to make the neural pathways stronger. People with strong neural pathways are less likely to have dementia when they are older. Plasicity is also how stroke victims recover from strokes.
September 12, 2012 at 3:27 pm
I have no idea if in the long run it will make a difference, but you’re having fun doing it. That in it self is a good thing. All work and no play makes us cranky!!
September 12, 2012 at 7:05 pm
I love lumosity. I don’t think I would ADD it to any other games I used to play, but it replaced a subscription to a useless instant gratification-type gaming site. Instead of just wasting time, at least I’m building something in my life.
I found it really helped with my “baby-brain”.
However, it is kinda pricey.
September 12, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Quote Begins “Arlene Says:
September 12, 2012 at 1:14 pm
I think the commercial said that its trying to encourage Plasicity. That’s where you are trying to make the neural pathways stronger. People with strong neural pathways are less likely to have dementia when they are older. Plasicity is also how stroke victims recover from strokes.” Quote Ends
Plasicity makes you better at what you practice. It makes London Taxi drivers better at navigating and remembering places in London (what they practice). It doesn’t make them better at remembering a birthday (unrelated brain function).
If you want to get better, you have to pick something specific to get better at; then practice.
September 12, 2012 at 11:33 pm
I like Conceptispuzzles.com for games. They have quite a few different types, one of each new free each week. I like the mathy ones best, my favorite is pic a pix. Also, I like bejeweled quite a bit, and the spider solitaire that comes on the computer calms me down.
September 13, 2012 at 2:05 am
Lumiinosity and many other games are indeed promoting and enablin the neuroplastcity of our brains. By challenging our neural pathways to think differently we are able to change our pathways.
I would encourage everyone to read Jill Bolt Stroke of Insight book. She was neuro anatomist who had a masive stroke. Her recovery is a remarkable story of how we can indeed retrain our brain and learn through new pathways to conttinue to function at a amazing level of cognitive and physical means.
I tried luminosity and then stopped once my freebbie timewas used up..but really should bite the bullet and spend a few dollars so that I can invest in my cognitve health.
September 13, 2012 at 9:06 am
I’ve been using Lumosity for a few months now too and love it! My brain function seems to vary throughout the day and it’s fun finding out when my best “brain” time is.
I also try to break from the “norm” and give my brain a work out by driving different routes to work and shopping at a different grocery store now and then.
September 13, 2012 at 9:55 am
I would echo Jennifer’s comments. There is no solid research that demonstrates that games like those on Lumosity will translate into anything beyond improved skill level at those games. Play the games if you find them fun, play the games if they help you do other things (like Gail said, sometimes doing a different task will help you process complex ideas), but don’t pay the money to play these games because you think they’ll help you avoid dementia.
Neuroplasticity is a buzzword at the moment, and has a lot of interesting basic research, but this basic research has not been well translated into applied practice in terms of cognitive function, except in a few particular instances for things like brain injury or stroke rehabilitaiton. To avoid dementia and stay sharp, regular physical exercise has stronger research basis than computer games. That said, we should never stop learning, so continuing to learn new skills like languages, musical intsruments, studying challenging subjects, etc. will do you more good cognitively than these games.
September 13, 2012 at 11:37 am
I’ve read that learning a new language is the only way to actually increase your IQ. When learning a language, it opens a part of your brain that normally doesn’ get used and allows to to store lots of other “stuff” in there as well. When I hunker down to learn some of a new language, I find my short and long-term memories also go through the roof. I take a quick glace at a grcoery list of items and don’t even need to bring it with me ’cause it’s been memorized.
When I stop learning the language, I go back to being memory-dumb again after a few months. But luckily, most of what I learned stays with me. Is my brain maybe generally bigger in general yet I get accustomed to it and think I’m back to normal? Not sure…. It’s hard to remember being stupider or smarter than you are at any given moment.
September 13, 2012 at 12:08 pm
I was rather disappointed to discover Lumosity came with a hefty $80 dollar yearly subscription. As beneficial as Lumosity seems I’m struggling with whether that’s an expense I really want (or need) to add to my budget. Maybe the free crosswords I download every day, a steady supply of free second hand books and the odd free game of Spider Solitaire are enough to keep my brain sharp…and my bank account happy