The Effectiveness of Brain Training

The importance of keeping our brains healthy and fit stems from the belief that if our brains are stimulated regularly, we'll lose many of our brains' functions, whereas keeping the brain active can help improve our mental skills. However, while many brain training therapists and doctors believe these facts; their theories have not been scientifically proven.

The fact that it's not been scientifically proven, however, does not mean that brain training does not work. There are specific examples that make it uncertain how effective brain training is in all areas of our lives. Here is a classic example. You've learned how to play the popular game Sudoku. At first it's very foreign and difficult for you, at least until you learn how to do the puzzles. Like most Sudoku players, you find the puzzles so enjoyable that they become almost addictive. The more you play Sudoku, the better you become at doing the puzzles.

Each time you do a Sudoku puzzle, you're stimulating your brain and practicing the process of brain training. The fact that you continue to get better at Sudoku is proof that the brain training is working. However, even though your brain is getting sharper with each game you play, how much of this new brainpower will carry over to other areas of your life? This is why so many question the validity of brain training to improve overall brain function. Becoming an expert at Sudoku means your brain may be very sharp, but is it going to make it easier for you to balance your checkbook?

What scientists are attempting to find is a form of brain training that not only works for everyone but also works in a multitude of situations. For instance, if it improves your ability to play Sudoku better, it can also help in other areas of your life. If that can happen, the effectiveness of brain training will never be questioned again.

Many studies today are dealing with finding ways to use brain training to be effective in more than just one part of the brain or one part of our life. In some studies, participants found that their mental skills had improved in several areas of their life while others found only certain types of memory was improved.

Brain training is particularly an important topic of conversation with doctors working with older people. They're trying to determine how beneficial brain training could be on elderly individuals. If it could help them improve their thinking and preserve their memory, it could be very beneficial to society as a whole and not just to the elderly.

Round-the-Clock-Buddies

Here is a strategy that I have used many times during the school year, particularly during the first two weeks of school.

 

Give each student a sheet with a 12-hour clock printed on it. Along the side of each number on the clock, place a line extending horizontally where a student’s name can be written. The assignment is to fill in at least one other student’s name per line.

 Now here is how this works. Explain to the students:

 

“First, I take my sheet and go to another student. I ask if he or she would like to be my 1:00 buddy. If the answer is yes, then I write their name on my sheet – and they write my name on their sheet. We make sure that we spell each other’s names correctly!”

 

Tell the students how to continue the process. If, for example, someone’s 1:00 buddy line is already filled, they can ask about another time, e.g. “Well, if we cannot be buddies at 1:00, what about 3:00?”

 

Depending on the size of the class, for each of the 12 slots, students should write in one name for a class of 12. They will have two names for a class of 24, and 3 names for larger groups.

 

Future Activities: This “Round the Clock Buddy” exercise can also become the basis for many future activities. It is a great method to organize a “think-pair-share” or brainstorming activity. I then say to my students:

 

“Please make an appointment with your 2:00 buddy and I would like for you to discuss…

 

(whatever it is you as the teacher want the class to discuss at that point).”

 

The children really seem to enjoy this exercise – and it gives you something to vary the normal routine.