Do you ever worry that your brain doesn’t work as well as it used to?
Cognitive changes happen over time. For most people, that means that they lose mental skills as they get older.
If you use these four apps to boost your brainpower, though, you could make yourself smarter as you age.
1. Lumosity
Lumosity uses scientific research to develop games that will make your brain work on a higher level.
The company’s scientists spent 10 weeks studying the effects of Lumosity on a group of volunteers. A control group completed online crossword puzzles for the same length of time.
When the study ended, researchers found that the group that played Lumosity games had higher levels of cognition than the group that did crossword puzzles.
Lumosity makes it relatively easy for you to improve your mental skills. The app will give you daily workouts that challenge your brain. All you have to do is play games.
Over time, your brain’s ability to complete difficult tasks will improve. The app even tracks your game scores so you can see how much you’ve improved.
You can install a free version of Lumosity on your smartphone, but it gives you only limited features.
Unlock all of the app’s brain-enhancing tricks with a $14.95 monthly subscription. If you love Lumosity’s effects, you can save quite a lot of money by paying $299.95 for a lifetime membership.
Since Lumosity uses so many graphics-based games, you’ll get better results by installing it on a smartphone with an HD Super AMOLED screen. The Galaxy S7 is a good option, especially when paired with T-Mobile’s fast and reliable network.
2. Fit Brains Trainer
The Fit Brains Trainer has a lot in common with Lumosity. Both companies give you complex games that boost your brain’s power slowly.
Fit Brains, however, claims to offer more games and personalized training programs. The company’s research shows that games can enhance your memory, focus, visual-spatial recognition, and other skills.
Fit Brains also helps improve your emotional intelligence through games that challenge your social awareness, self-control, social skills, and self-awareness.
Fit Brains Trainer will give you a free trial so you can experience its games. You can upgrade to the Premium version for $39.99 per year or $7.99 per month. Getting the Premium version unlocks extra features like personalized training plans.
3. IntelliVocab
Image via Google Play
Expanding your vocabulary won’t necessarily make your brain function better, but it will help you understand more of the words you encounter. A bigger vocabulary could also make you seem smarter, which can go a long way when you’re trying to impress someone.
IntelliVocab draws from vocabulary lists used to help students prepare for difficult tests like the SAT, GRE, and GMAT.
Practice sessions introduce you to words that you may not know and encourage you to guess their meanings. After going through a few practice sessions, you can take tests to determine how well you’ve retained the words and their meanings.
The app tracks your progress and gives you a score based on how many questions you answered and how long it took you to answer them.
IntelliVocab is free, so you’d as well start learning new words now.
4. Duolingo
Learning a new language offers a lot of advantages. You get to communicate with more people, you learn more about how English functions, and you can discover new career opportunities.
Picking up a new language, however, can take a lot of time and practice. Duolingo makes the learning process fun by using games that introduce you to Spanish, French, German, and several other languages.
Duolingo keeps each lesson short so you can practice your new skills and retain information better. With this app, you don’t have to spend hours forcing yourself to memorize new words.
Learning happens naturally through simple lessons and real-world conversations. You may not master the language, but you can become proficient enough to converse with native speakers.
Duolingo is free.
Each of these apps has its benefits. Try them all to decide which ones work well for you.
Disclaimer: All images are provided by the author.
About The Author:
Ryan is a freelance writer primarily focusing on tech and health topics. When she’s not writing, she enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her family.
