What are Brain Training Games?

Brain training games are exercises designed to improve the function of the brain in a specific way. While many stimulating games improve function overall, most brain training games are designed to improve a specific area in which many people feel they are deficient. Commonly, these games aim to improve memory, concentration, or even creativity. By focusing on a specific area, some people feel that they can measure the benefits of the exercise. Even so, brain training games are not always as effective as they claim to be.

Many people feel at one time or another that they have lost some degree of mental function. Memory is one of the most common areas in which people feel their faculties slipping. Brain training games are designed to specifically address this problem by exercising the brain much like someone would exercise a muscle. These training games provide exercise by using a game to perform a specific function repeatedly, which is thought to improve a person's ability to perform that function.

Common brain training games include card game memory games, riddles, and basic math. When doing logic and math problems, speed usually factors into success. While it is much easier to exercise the brain by performing tasks with objective answers, some brain exercises encourage the brain to solve problems and look at the world from different perspectives. One less common type of brain exercise involves teaching the brain to focus on a task more effectively. Occasionally, a brain fitness exercise may only address reaction speed, which can be considered a kind of mental fitness, but this faculty is difficult to measure because it is mediated through the body.

One reason brain training games are not always effective is that they are isolated, and so they are not integrated into the rest of a person's life. The brain usually does not need to use only memory, but both memory and other skills. Also, when using memory, a person will usually not be focusing solely on remembering something. As such, while improvement within the game is likely, improvement outside the game is not as common.

Any activity that requires the brain to work, such as learning a language, doing a puzzle, or even just engaging in discussion, provides the brain with exercise and can improve cognitive function. Additionally, most brain training games can be made at home or found for free online. Most companies that promise quick and guaranteed results should be viewed with suspicion, and consumers should be very careful about paying money to improve any cognitive function.