From Sudoku to handheld games, people young and old alike have been looking for ways to improve their mental functioning and prevent brain aging. This list has ten of the best games and websites to improve your mental fitness.
Brain Age 2 is a brain training and mental fitness system for the Nintendo DS system. It puts forth a huge number of games to hone your concentration, memory, calculation and other brain skills. Use Brain Age 2 to keep your brain sharp every day. It's fun, portable and challenging.
Lumosity is one of the most develop brain training and mental fitness websites around. Log in for a 7-day free trial and check out the features and ideas. You'll find yourself challenging your brain and getting better at your scores along the way. Most important, these are fun brain training and mental fitness games, tests and activities.
More Ways to Improve Your Mental Fitness
Happy Neuron is a website with games and activities divided into 5 critical brain areas: memory, attention, language, executive functions and visual/spatial. The website costs $9.95 a month and has a free trial offer so that you can see if you like the approach.
The online "brain gym" costs $9.95 for three months. It is full of games, puzzles and other challenges to improve your mental fitness. The website recommends 10 minutes of brain training twice a day for the best effects. The website also has a 21-day basic training program which claims to improve your mental speed.
Crosswords are a classic brain trainer, accessing not only verbal language but memory from many dimensions of knowledge. Start with the Monday puzzle and work your way through the week as they get more difficult. Be patient, it takes a while to get used to 'crossword think' and how clues are presented.
Sudoku is a highly addictive number placement game that relies on memory. To complete a Sudoku puzzle you have to look ahead and follow trails of consequences -- if you put a 6 in this box, that one must be an 8 and this one a 4, etc. This "planning" helps improve short term memory and concentration.
This website provides free interactive brain training games. While the games are not as extensive as the online sites, you can get a good idea of how online brain training will work for you here.
Claiming to have the world's largest collection of brain teasers, this free website provide more than 10,000 puzzles, games and other brain teasers as well as an online community of enthusiasts. You can even create your own puzzles to give your brain a super workout.
Queendom is a completely addictive and free website that has thousands of personality tests and surveys. Queendom also has an extensive collection of "brain tools" for you to exercise and test your brain.
Founded in 2004, Brainbuilder.com offers cognitive exercises, an online "trainer", tracking of your brain progress, and baseline testing to provide comprehensive brain training. The fee for brainbuilder.com is 7.95 per month with a free 7-day trial offer available.
