The truth about brain-training apps

Do brain-training apps actually improve your memory? What about crossword puzzles and sudoku?

Dr. Alan Castel of the UCLA Memory & Lifespan Cognition Lab reveals the truth about the impact these activities have on our brains.

“The best thing out there is physical exercise,” he says. “I think intuitively people think brain training works—or doing crossword puzzles. But you’re not training a generalized memory system, you’re training a very specialized system whereas things like physical exercise just brings lots of blood flow to the brain. It cleans out the toxins, it does all sorts of good things that will lead to kind of a sizeable effect size.”

Dr. Castel cites one of his favorite studies, showing that a group assigned to walking three times a week for 40 minutes, performed better in long-term memory than a group that was assigned to just stretch three times a week for 40 minutes.

Although brain training studies are promising, it hasn’t shown us that the type of brain training we do — such as playing computer games or even doing crossword puzzles — transfers over to the types of memory challenges we want to get better at, such as remembering names or faces.

You shouldn’t do brain training apps or crossword puzzles just because you think it’s going to improve your memory. Do them if you enjoy them. But maintaining that balance between physical exercise and any brain training apps you like will be more effective in the long run than just the apps alone.

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