Results are presented in Table 1. To analyze the time course of scores during the analysis, the results of the mixed models are presented in Table 2 and Fig. Therefore, an important outcome of this analysis is the interaction between training session and participant age group results of the interactions in Table 2 —complete results are available in Supplementary Table S3.

As for the scores, first, we analyzed the results of the first session of training to evaluate the influence of age on initial CMG scores. Results are presented in Table 3. When then evaluated the progress of the processing speed, the increase in game difficulty throughout the sessions must be taken into account.

The time course of the processing speed over the sessions, adjusted for difficulty levels and the total duration of the training, are presented in Fig. The results of the mixed models are presented in Table 4.

For Word Pairs we observed an decrease in the processing speed in all age groups. For Square Numbers , Unique and Rush Back there was a statistically significant increase for all participant age groups, however as for the score, the increase of the processing speed is more marked for younger participants.

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a cognitive training performed using CMG in real-life use on cognitive performance in older adults. First, we compared the baseline game scores per age group and observed that outcomes are sensitive to age-related cognitive changes, which is in line with the results of a previous study, where we showed that CMG scores are correlated with the cognitive abilities of older adults with and without cognitive impairments When investigating the scores of the CMG, we observed statistically significant linear decreases with the increasing age of the participants, and conversely, a significant decrease in processing speed.

These results are in accordance with neuropsychological and physiological data: aging is indeed related to a decrease in cognitive function 17 and an increase in reaction time This observation supports that our outcomes are sensitive to age-related changes in cognitive function.

The literature also supports that basic numerical skills are preserved in healthy aging 19 and that deficits may be associated with MCI The age-related differences in baseline scores we observed in Square Numbers are therefore probably not related to a decrease of numerical skills but may be explained by slowed reaction times and inhibiting abilities, both of which are known to be affected by aging Our study did not measure inhibitory processes directly, but Must Sort may be considered an indirect measure of inhibitory response.

In Must Sort , we observed a linear decrease in scores as well as an decrease in processing speed with increasing participant age, both results are consistent with the aforementioned study 21 and could explain why we observed age-dependent differences in baseline Square Numbers scores.

Though the changes in different cognitive abilities over the lifespan are relatively well-documented 22 , 23 , there is less evidence on the plasticity of these different cognitive functions across the lifespan 23 , 24 , Furthermore, it has not yet been established whether all cognitive functions can be trained or the extent to which progress can be achieved in healthy subjects of different ages These are both important questions in the field of cognitive training.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to modify its structure and function for example under conditions of learning or compensation. We studied a healthy population and therefore the observed improvements are most likely due to training-induced plasticity rather than compensation.

Previous studies have shown neuroimaging and neurotransmitter changes after cognitive training of working memory in healthy people 27 , 28 , 29 , that could ultimately lead to an increase of cognitive reserve However, it is possible given the age of the subjects that this may be a compensatory mechanism.

For example the scaffolding theory of aging and cognition provides a theoretical model for the causes and the consequences of age-related compensatory neural activity According to this theory, scaffolding is conceptualized as the recruitment of additional circuitry that shores up declining brain function that has become inefficient.

Despite the age-related alteration in different important brain structures i. Cognitive training or sustained engagement in challenging novel tasks like CMGs could enhance the development of scaffolding and as a result, confer protection and improvement in cognitive functions We observed a clear linear trend for the analysis of the initial score, the same tendency was found for the time course of the scores, where all progress were smaller with increasing age.

Those results confirm that even if the age-related cognitive decline is inevitable, lifelong trajectories of brain and cognitive functions are variable and stay plastic throughout the lifespan For the next part of discussion, we will address the effect of training on each cognitive domain see Table 5 for the different cognitive abilities trained by the CMG in turn.

Note that each CMG may train different cognitive abilities but for the sake of this discussion, we define the main component of cognition for each CMG. The processing speed increases during the first 50 sessions then remain stable while the score of the games is continuously increasing, this seems to indicate that the speed is no longer decreasing but the participants are able to perform more complex tasks.

The results of the present study are consistent with these results and extend them to older adults. We observed an increase in Word Pairs scores throughout the sessions in every age group.

This increase was greater for the younger participants. Word processing and literacy engagement along adulthood enable to maintain an efficient lexical processing 37 , which is reflected by the evolution of the scores observed in the current study indicating that semantic learning abilities are preserved even at advanced ages.

However, concerning the processing speed, even after adjusting for the difficulty level, we observed an increase in all age groups during the training. Word Pairs and Babble Bot are the only two CMG using retrieval from long-term memory.

Participants tended to recall common, more easily accessible items before unique, less accessible items, and this pattern was more prominent in older adults The words to pair become more difficult and less common as the training progresses, which may explain why, despite the adjustment, the time needed to associate these words increases significantly in the different age groups.

It has been demonstrated that older adults experience more difficulties in task switching, coupled with infrequent and unexpected transitions from one task set to another Despite the highest costs to task shifting performance 40 , we observed that older participants were able to train this function, as exhibited by their significant improvements in processing speed.

One potential mechanism that could explain this is a shift in cognitive control. Previous neuroimaging studies have indeed shown that older adults may switch from a proactive e.

In the Must Sort , reactive control strategy is the most used mechanism. With regard to visual attention, it is widely accepted that aging is associated with the deterioration of vision and field of view 42 , and with a decrease in selective attention We observed that the time needed to find the unique object decreased in all age groups over time, which may indicate that this CMG is able to improve selective attention in older adults, or at least improve response speed, which is a good indicator of cognitive function These results are in line with a previous study that showed that processing speed training improves selective attention in older adults Similarly to other CMGs, scores and reaction time of Rush Back , which mainly trains working memory, were improved in all age groups with a slower progression in the older groups.

It has been demonstrated that older adults can improve their working memory after a specific training In another study the investigators analyzed the effect of a session training program using an n -back task program same principle as the Rush Back where the subjects must remember the previous card in younger, middle-aged and older adults The authors found that age exerted independent effects on training gains and asymptotic performance: older adults tended to show less improvement in scores than younger adults 47 , which is also consistent with our findings.

There are three main limitations in this study: the first is that we did not have access to any information about the background of the participants: it is well-known that several factors influence cognitive function and the risk of dementia such as genetic risk factors 48 , as well as non-genetic risk factors including lifestyle-related factors 49 , for example education level, smoking history, history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, physical activity, body mass index, or concomitant pathologies such as stroke 50 , cardiovascular disease 51 , diabetes 52 , or chronic respiratory disease Gender is also postulated to influence some cognitive functions such as vocabulary capacity Due to the fact that we did not have access to this background information, we cannot establish whether the effects observed in the current study were influenced by any of these factors.

Most probably, subjects playing with this kind of app are cognitively healthy and quite comfortable with mobile devices. The second limitation is the choice of the outcomes, namely, the scores of the CMG and the processing speed data obtained within the games.

Furthermore, both of the scores of the CMG and processing speed have been shown to be good indicators of cognitive function 16 , In a recent study examining the effects of cognitive training on cognitive performance of healthy adults, the authors found that there was a transfer effect between the trained abilities and the instruments used only when the tests were similar to the trained situation near effects.

If the tests differed too much from the training tasks far effects no training effect was observed However, some studies did show a transfer to general cognitive function as tested byneuropsychological batteries for multiple cognitive domains 11 , 16 and also demonstrated a protective effect in patients with MCI Those beneficial effects could be related to the multi-domains, novel and continuously challenging self-adaptative stimulation provided by most cognitive training apps, which has been shown to be superior to the routine mental activities of everyday life These challenging and unusual stimuli induce changes in brain activity and connectivity in areas that are known to be affected by aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Those changes may help counteract age- and disease-related alterations and help to explain cognitive benefits and transfers, once their link with cognitive improvements has been clearly established 33 , Finally, the study suffers a selection bias, since the participants were all users of this app and were therefore most probably familiar with the use of smartphones and current technology.

This has two consequences: first, older people who are less familiar with mobile technology might find this app less usable and therefore the adherence may be lower. Secondly, a recent study underlined the importance of digital devices use in delaying cognitive decline in the older adults 58 , thus the participants of this study may have already been benefiting from this phenomenon and thus functioning at a higher cognitive level than those who do not regularly use mobile technology.

Despite these limitations, the results of this study support that even at old age above 80 years old , participants are able to use CMG and to train and improve cognition through CMG. Although technological devices and medical-related apps cannot single-handedly improve cognitive decline, in the absence of effective, low-cost, and accessible treatments for cognitive and motivational deficits, these brain training apps could be greatly beneficial to public health.

One salient aspect of the games is that they could be combined with automated evaluation and assessment of cognitive function 16 , In this context, the presented method could be an interesting complementary tool due to its potential to become widely available thanks to the growing use of mobile technology.

Another positive aspect is that the cognitive training and follow-up with games on mobile can be also proposed to patients with limited mobility, or living to far to come on a regular basis to specialized centers 60 , and in lockdown during the COVID pandemic 61 , While cognitive training app games have been shown to improve memory in older people with mild cognitive impairment 63 , further studies are needed to determine if technologies, such as apps, can decrease dementia risk in healthy subjects or slow down the progression of the disease in patients suffering from cognitive impairment and if there is a transfer to the activities of daily living.

We can, also, speculate that since psychomotor slowing associated with aging has an important negative effect on multi-tasking activities of daily living, improving the processing speed could have a positive effect on the quality of life of the participants We carried out a retrospective observational study in which we obtained anonymized CMG results of healthy participants.

This study was approved by The Cambridge Psychology Research Ethics Committee Pre. The scores of the CMG, automatically recorded by the application, were then analysed anonymously for each of the five age groups provided: 60—64, 65—69, 70—74, 75—79, and 80 years or older.

The number of participants varied in each CMG and in the different age groups Table 1. In this study, we used a set of seven individual short CMG provided by Peak brain training www.

net , London—UK to analyze changes in-game scores and processing speed over the course of sessions of CMG one session is defined as the completion of one level of the CMG. The games are organized by categories based on the main cognitive functions on which they focus.

Screenshots of the games are presented in Fig. The difficulty level of each CMG is adapted automatically according to the previous performance of the participant i. The number of stimuli and the intersimulus intervals depend on the CMG and the difficulty level The CMG were played on smartphones or tablets and the scores of training sessions were analyzed.

No particular instructions were given to the participants about the frequency or the duration of each training session, the total duration needed to achieve the sessions of training for the different CMG is presented in Supplementary Table S1.

Screenshots of the 7 CMG used in this study. A Square Numbers, B Memory Sweep, C Word Pair, D Babble Bots, E Must Sort, F Unique, G Rush Back. Instructions and main cognitive abilities trained of each CMG are presented in Table 5.

The primary outcome was the scores obtained in the seven CMG for the different age groups. Several cognitive sub-functions are usually assessed during standard cognitive evaluations: attention, memory, fluency, language, and visuospatial abilities Table 5 To have a complete overview of the cognition, those different sub-functions need to be assessed individually; the scores of the CMG are used as a proxy of the main sub-cognitive abilities challenged in each game.

As a second primary outcome, we computed the processing speed based on the reaction time for the speed-dependent CMG exceptions were Memory Sweep and Word Pairs Details of the computations are presented in Table 4.

Processing speed is considered as a good indicator of general cognitive performance 19 and has been proposed as a predictor of frailty risk among people in old age 67 , Firstly, the first session scores of the different age groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA or Kruskal—Wallis tests, depending the distribution of the data, to determine if age had an influence on the initial scores.

Omega-squared analyses or epsilon-squared non-normally distributed tests were computed to estimate the effect size Post-hoc tests for linear trends were performed last. We then analysed each CMG using a separate mixed model with random slope age and intercept with the scores from each session treated as repeated measures adjusted for the total duration of the training for each participant.

Fixed effects of age group, session 1 to , and the interaction between age group and session were specified, and the estimated baseline measures were constrained to be identical in the age groups by subtracting the mean values of the first session for each age group in all the sessions.

This approach is equivalent to adjusting for baseline and permitting the relationship between baseline and follow-up scores to differ at each session. Likelihood-ratio tests were used to test the significance of the random effects model and linear mixed model with interaction.

For the processing speed, we applied a separate mixed model for the different CMG with random slope age and intercept with the processing speed from each session treated as repeated measures, adjusted for the difficulty levels reached and the total duration of the training for each participant.

Statistical analyses were performed at an overall significance level of 0. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Public Health , 7—14 Malavita, M. The effect of aging and attention on visual crowding and surround suppression of perceived contrast threshold. Nyberg, L. Forecasting memory function in aging: Pattern-completion ability and hippocampal activity relate to visuospatial functioning over 25 years.

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Lancet Neurol. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care. Lancet , — Zheng, F. Progression of cognitive decline before and after incident stroke. Neurology 93 , e20—e28 We hope you enjoyed reading this article. About the author Dr. Jeffrey Gaines earned a Ph. in clinical psychology from Pennsylvania State University in He sees clinical psychology as a practical extension of philosophy and specializes in neuropsychology — having been board-certified in Jeffrey is currently Clinical Director at Metrowest Neuropsychology in Westborough, MA.

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Instructions and main cognitive abilities trained of each CMG are presented in Table 5. The primary outcome was the scores obtained in the seven CMG for the different age groups.

Several cognitive sub-functions are usually assessed during standard cognitive evaluations: attention, memory, fluency, language, and visuospatial abilities Table 5 To have a complete overview of the cognition, those different sub-functions need to be assessed individually; the scores of the CMG are used as a proxy of the main sub-cognitive abilities challenged in each game.

As a second primary outcome, we computed the processing speed based on the reaction time for the speed-dependent CMG exceptions were Memory Sweep and Word Pairs Details of the computations are presented in Table 4.

Processing speed is considered as a good indicator of general cognitive performance 19 and has been proposed as a predictor of frailty risk among people in old age 67 , Firstly, the first session scores of the different age groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA or Kruskal—Wallis tests, depending the distribution of the data, to determine if age had an influence on the initial scores.

Omega-squared analyses or epsilon-squared non-normally distributed tests were computed to estimate the effect size Post-hoc tests for linear trends were performed last. We then analysed each CMG using a separate mixed model with random slope age and intercept with the scores from each session treated as repeated measures adjusted for the total duration of the training for each participant.

Fixed effects of age group, session 1 to , and the interaction between age group and session were specified, and the estimated baseline measures were constrained to be identical in the age groups by subtracting the mean values of the first session for each age group in all the sessions.

This approach is equivalent to adjusting for baseline and permitting the relationship between baseline and follow-up scores to differ at each session. Likelihood-ratio tests were used to test the significance of the random effects model and linear mixed model with interaction.

For the processing speed, we applied a separate mixed model for the different CMG with random slope age and intercept with the processing speed from each session treated as repeated measures, adjusted for the difficulty levels reached and the total duration of the training for each participant.

Statistical analyses were performed at an overall significance level of 0. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Google Scholar. World Health Organization. Dementia WHO, Cimler, R. PLoS ONE 14 , e Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar. Cleveland, M. Preserving cognition, preventing dementia.

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Abraha, I. Systematic review of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological interventions to treat behavioural disturbances in older patients with dementia. The SENATOR-OnTop series. BMJ Open 7 , e Nouchi, R. Brain training game boosts executive functions, working memory and processing speed in the young adults: A randomized controlled trial.

PLoS ONE 8 , e Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar. Gates, N. Computerised cognitive training for 12 or more weeks for maintaining cognitive function in cognitively healthy people in late life. Cochrane Database Syst. pub3 Shah, T. Enhancing cognitive functioning in healthly older adults: A systematic review of the clinical significance of commercially available computerized cognitive training in preventing cognitive decline.

Bonnechère, B. The use of commercial computerised cognitive games in older adults: A meta-analysis. Computerised cognitive training for preventing dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed Google Scholar. Edwards, J. Speed of processing training results in lower risk of dementia. Alzheimers Dement N. Age-associated capacity to progress when playing Cognitive Mobile Games: Ecological retrospective observational study.

JMIR Serious Games 8 , e The use of mobile games to assess cognitive function of elderly with and without cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Dis. Bettio, L. The effects of aging in the hippocampus and cognitive decline. Norris, J. Aging and the number sense: Preserved basic non-symbolic numerical processing and enhanced basic symbolic processing.

Johari, K. Effects of aging on temporal predictive mechanisms of speech and hand motor reaction time. Aging Clin. Martin, R. Loss of calculation abilities in patients with mild and moderate Alzheimer disease. Cappelletti, M. Number skills are maintained in healthy ageing.

Vogel, A. Differences in quantitative methods for measuring subjective cognitive decline—Results from a prospective memory clinic study. Rizeq, J. Changing relations among cognitive abilities across development: Implications for measurement and research.

Li, T. Cognitive training can reduce the rate of cognitive aging: A neuroimaging cohort study. BMC Geriatr. Article PubMed PubMed Central CAS Google Scholar. van de Vijver, I. Age-related changes in deterministic learning from positive versus negative performance feedback.

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Olesen, P. Increased prefrontal and parietal activity after training of working memory. Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar. Klingberg, T. Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends Cogn. Orrell, M.

Education and dementia. BMJ , — Park, D. The adaptive brain: Aging and neurocognitive scaffolding. The aging mind: Neuroplasticity in response to cognitive training. Dialogues Clin. van Balkom, T. The effects of cognitive training on brain network activity and connectivity in aging and neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review.

Mitchell, M. Cognitively stimulating activities: Effects on cognition across four studies with up to 21 years of longitudinal data.

Aging Res. Caviola, S. Computer-based training for improving mental calculation in third- and fifth-graders. Acta Physiol. Oxf , — Takeuchi, H. Working Memory training using mental calculation impacts regional gray matter of the frontal and parietal regions.

PLoS ONE 6 , e Steen-Baker, A. The effects of context on processing words during sentence reading among adults varying in age and literacy skill.

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R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing Download references. Bruno Bonnechère was funded by the Fondation Wiener-Anspach ; Dr.

Barbara J Sahakian receives funding from the Wallitt Foundation and Eton College and research is conducted within the NIHR MedTech and in vitro diagnostic Co-operative MIC and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre BRC Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes.

REVAL Rehabilitation Research Center, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK.

Laboratory of Applied Biology and Neurophysiology, ULB Neuroscience Institute UNI , Université Libre de Bruxelles ULB , Brussels, Belgium. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar.

The study was conceived by B. performed the analysis. and B. did the data interpretation and contributed to the writing. Correspondence to Bruno Bonnechère.

Bonnechère, Dr. Langley and Prof. Klass have nothing to disclose. Sahakian consults for Cambridge Cognition, Greenfield BioVentures and Cassava Sciences. She receives funds from Cambridge Enterprise for Technology Transfer of Wizard and Decoder to Brainbow and Peak.

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Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature. nature scientific reports articles article. Download PDF. Subjects Dementia Geriatrics. Abstract Managing age-related decrease of cognitive function is an important public health challenge, especially in the context of the global aging of the population.

Introduction According to the World Health Organization WHO , the world population aged over 60 years will have doubled in number by , with an estimated total of 2 billion people 1.

Results Time needed to perform all sessions Since no particular guidelines are given in the app regarding the frequency of the training sessions, we first analyzed the number of days needed to reach the sessions for each CMG.

CMG scores First, we analyzed the results of the first session of training to evaluate the influence of age on initial CMG scores. In the realm of cognition, this entailed finding areas of thinking, memory, and problem solving that were relative strengths for an individual.

For example, you might find that abilities such as sustained attention and organization are among your most notable cognitive strengths. You might also note the presence of external factors supporting your cognition, such as a healthy diet, regular exercise , and good sleep habits.

In taking careful inventory of your cognitive strengths, you are in the best position to enhance and deploy them, improving your cognitive health and function. The Harvard researchers emphasize the importance of cultivating these factors together, as they reinforce each other and lead to optimal brain and cognitive health.

The first four factors — concerning diet, exercise, sleep, and stress reduction — can be seen as indirect support for cognitive health. The last two factors, social interaction and challenging the brain, involve cognition more directly.

Social interaction stimulates and challenges the brain in ways that solitary activities cannot. The amygdala and related structures are deep brain areas crucial for regulating emotions and facilitating memory storage.

This and similar studies suggest a strong association between social interaction and brain health in these crucial areas. Maintaining or expanding your social network can, therefore, help ensure overall brain and cognitive health.

Challenging the brain with specific activities is the second, more direct means toward cognitive health, such as with the following cognitive exercises and games. Download 3 Free Productivity Exercises PDF These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to do their deepest, most productive work.

There are various high-tech cognitive exercises available through paid programs such as Lumosity. Such programs offer digitally based brain exercises for most ages and ability levels. However, there are also relatively low-tech, low-cost, effective options for cognitive strengthening, available to most individuals with some ingenuity and effort.

Harvard Medical School has outlined several of these Godman, , including the following:. The supportive factors, exercises, and games cited above remain valid for maintaining cognitive fitness as we grow older, with certain caveats. For example, a verbal memory task for an older person with encroaching memory problems might be modified to include a 6-item list of words to recall, instead of a item list.

Prompts and cues can spur memory and provide the individual with an experience of success. If it is too hard, you risk overwhelming the person. Finding the right cognitive challenge for such individuals allows them to exercise their faculties and experience some success, rather than becoming overwhelmed and frustrated.

Neuropsychological testing is one way to assess cognitive health. However, this option can be costly and labor intensive. There are a number of excellent tools available to practitioners for basic screening and tracking of cognitive health. Many of these tools are designed for use with older people, but some are meant for use with younger people as well.

This assessment uses patient history, observations by clinicians, and concerns raised by the patient, family, or caregivers. These measures include the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition, Memory Impairment Screen, and the Mini-Cog brief psychometric test.

These supplements include B-complex and E vitamins, minerals such as zinc, herbs such as ginkgo biloba, and other botanicals. The Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study followed 3, older adult participants over the course of six years, randomly assigned to ginkgo biloba or placebo groups DeKosky et al.

The study found no evidence that the supplement slowed cognitive decline or prevented dementia. B-complex vitamins such as B6, B9, and B12 have not been shown to prevent or slow cognitive decline in older adults McMahon et al.

Studies have shown that certain supplements such as zinc can have positive effects on frontal or executive function in children and adults Warthon-Medina et al.

Recently, a large prospective cohort study followed 5, participants for 9. As always, it is best to consult your physician before taking either approved medications or medical supplements. We have a number of resources that specifically apply to strength assessments and a healthy mind.

For some practical resources to get you started, check out some of the following. This handout is a valuable resource you can use to educate children about the benefits of exercise for mental wellness. In particular, it lists several of the emotional and neurochemical benefits of exercise and recommends several forms of exercise children might enjoy.

Use it to facilitate discussion about the link between mind and body when talking about the brain and cognitive health. This exercise invites clients to illustrate the gap between the extent to which they are currently using their strengths and the extent to which they could.

This exercise effectively gives clients immediate visual feedback on their strength use and can facilitate discussion around plans to increase or optimize strengths use.

This measure was created with the help of the Activity Builder at Quenza. Quenza is a platform created by the same team who established PositivePsychology. The Cognitive Fitness Survey can be used for self-reflection. It is designed to assess and track physical and emotional factors that contribute to cognitive health.

It also assesses and tracks specific cognitive health dimensions, including attention; short-term, remote, and prospective memory; and organizational capacity. Use them to help others flourish and thrive. For much of their history, clinical psychology and related helping professions focused on assessing and treating emotional, social, and cognitive deficits.

With the positive psychology movement in the late s came a different emphasis: finding and building upon strengths. Aspects of health and wellbeing began to be studied more assiduously and became the focus of interventions. Initially, cognitive health was one aspect of overall health and wellbeing that was overlooked by many researchers and practitioners.

Fortunately, more recently, cognitive health has begun to receive the attention it deserves, as both a research topic and focus of intervention Aidman, As with other components of health and wellness, cognitive health, including attentional capacity, memory abilities, and organizational and problem-solving skills, can be enhanced with the right support and exercises.

Staying physically healthy pays large dividends toward such cognitive fitness. Physical health includes maintaining a heart-healthy diet, sleeping well, and exercising regularly.

In addition, basic, cost-effective mental activities and exercises can further boost cognitive fitness. Many of these are enjoyable in their own right and can boost cognitive skills.

To be most effective, cognitive activities and exercises should involve as much novelty as possible. To find the right activities, a positive psychology, strengths-based approach might be useful. We hope you enjoyed reading this article.

About the author Dr. Jeffrey Gaines earned a Ph. in clinical psychology from Pennsylvania State University in He sees clinical psychology as a practical extension of philosophy and specializes in neuropsychology — having been board-certified in Jeffrey is currently Clinical Director at Metrowest Neuropsychology in Westborough, MA.

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Effective time management does not come naturally. For that reason, time management books, techniques, and software are a dime a dozen. When guiding your busy [ While difficult to define, perfectionism can drive impossibly high standards and have dangerous consequences. Maintaining that flawless veneer can put your mental and physical wellbeing [ Home Blog Store Team About CCE Reviews Contact Login.

Scientifically reviewed by Melissa Madeson, Ph. Helpful PositivePsychology. com Resources A Take-Home Message References. Download PDF.

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This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Video 6 Effective ways to improve cognitive ability. References Aidman, E.