Strong Brain. Strong Life.
The origins of brain training
For decades scientists from all over the world have investigated how our brain functions and how specific training programs could foster the strength of our brain. The earliest research on Brain Gym was conducted by Paul Dennison who was a school teacher in Los Angeles in the 1960s. He found that his students became better at skills like reading and coordination after regularly working out their brain. As a result he formed a new philosophy called "Educational Kinesiology". He then turned it into a holistic training program under the name "Brain Gym" and published several books about the topic.
The development of brain training
In the 1990s, the topic of brain gym was looked at under the name of Brain fitness and defined as the ability of a human being to process information, understand relationships, take decisions and arrive at conclusions. It was argued that brain fitness is a result of formal education, use of mental capabilities on a daily basis, healthy lifestyle and dedicated training programs designed to enhance cognitive abilities.
The influence of brain training on education and health
Whilst Memorado cannot influence formal education, we can change all the other options to enhance the fitness oft he brain. Like fitness of the body, regular exercise of various aspects of the brain lead to a superior outcome compared to those who do not work out on a regular basis. Also physicians and scientists have investigated whether mental training can help prevent mental diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's. In the majority of experiments and research studies to date, it was found that the training group outperformed the control group. There has also been disappointing findings such as a panel of experts who concluded that Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo did not enhance brain fitness. However the majority of findings has shown that regular training does indeed increase mental ability.
The structure of Memorado's brain training program
Memorado's training program is focused on 5 aspects of brain training: Speed, Logic, Concentration, Reaction and Memory. For each of these aspects, we have designed a series of interactive and fun games that help users train their cognitive function. Memorado recommends training of at least 3 times a week to achieve a sustainable improvement of mental ability. We are planning to conduct further studies to advance the understanding of cognitive functions and further improve our training program.
What happens in the brain during training?
All of these aspects will enhance your brain like a real gym would build up muscles. The brain adjusts to new challenges and, after a short period of training, will also start producing new synapes the connections between brain neurons. As a rule of thumb, more synapses equal higher intelligence levels (IQ). Two decades ago this was not clear yet, but Swedish researchers proved in 1998 that once can indeed halt brain decay and also positively produce new synapses if regularly trained. However, the choice of exercises is crucial for a maximum training impact as many different areas of the brain have to be stimulated. Whilst the left half of the brain focuses on logic and problem-solving, the right-half is responsible for creativity and the spatial abilitiy. Memorado has developed exercises that fulfil this goal generally and further personalise the training program to the ability of each individual user.
IQ-Training - myth and truth
Over the last 10 years, it has also become a trend to identify the IQ of oneself and family members. Whilst the real-world value of a high IQ always depends on many other factors, is it an accurate representation of how well some can think in abstract dimensions and solve logic problems. It is known that Sharon Stone has an IQ of 148 whilst Albert Einstein’s IQ was never measured - the testing procedure was not standardised 60 years ago. At Memorado, we believe that regularly working out with the personalised training program will increase your ability to take an IQ test. However, even if your IQ score would not increase the brain may still see increased activity and halt brain decay.
Why brain training is more important now than ever before
To summarise, research around the brain has dramatically progressed over the last 50 years. We now know that constant training of the brain does not only halt brain decay but also significantly improves cognitive abilities such as speed, concentration and memory. Brain games were found to be effective training exercises and have the added benefit of being fun for the users. Thus Memorado combines the scientific evidence around brain training into a personalised training program with the aim of significantly increasing the users’ brain capabilities.