| Unless you have been living in a cave, you have | | | | brain or which cognitive skill I am exercising, and is |
| read by now multiple articles about the brain | | | | there an independent assessment to measure my |
| training and brain exercise craze: sudoku, Nintendo | | | | progress? |
| BrainAge, multiple online games, software like | | | | (The question is whether the improvement |
| MindFit and Posit Science... | | | | experienced in the program will transfer into real |
| How do you know which of them can help you | | | | life. For that to happen we need assessments |
| more, or whether you need any of them? Well, | | | | that are distinct from the exercises themselves.) |
| that's why we are publishing the SharpBrains | | | | * 5. Is it a structured program with guidance on |
| Checklist below, to help you navigate through the | | | | how many hours per week and days per week |
| overwhelming and conflicting media reports and | | | | to use it? |
| company announcements. | | | | (Brain exercise is not a magic pill. You have to do |
| We have spent over 18 months interviewing | | | | the exercises in order to benefit, so you need |
| scientists and reviewing available Brain Fitness and | | | | clarity on the effort required.) |
| Exercise Programs worldwide, and we are going | | | | * 6. Do the exercises vary and teach me |
| to share with you, right now, the research-based | | | | something new? |
| criteria we use to evaluate them. | | | | (The only way to exercise important parts of our |
| ***** 10 Questions to Choose the Right Brain | | | | brain is by tackling novel challenges.) |
| Fitness Program for You (and a brief explanation | | | | * 7. Does the program challenge and motivate |
| of why each question is important)***** | | | | me, or does it feel like it would become easy |
| * 1. Are there scientists, ideally | | | | once I learned it? |
| neuropsychologists, and a scientific advisory board | | | | (Good brain exercise requires increasing levels of |
| behind the program? | | | | difficulty) |
| (Neuropsychologists specialize in measuring and | | | | * 8. Does the program fit my personal goals? |
| understanding human cognition and brain structure | | | | (Each individual has different goals/ needs when it |
| and function.) | | | | comes to brain health. For example, some want |
| * 2. Are there published, peer-reviewed scientific | | | | to manage anxiety, others to improve short-term |
| papers in PubMed written by those scientists? | | | | memory...) |
| How many? | | | | * 9. Does the program fit my lifestyle? |
| (PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of | | | | (Some brain exercise programs have great |
| Medicine that includes millions of citations science | | | | short-term results but are very intense. Others |
| journals. If a scientist has not published a paper | | | | may be better over time) |
| that appears in that database, he or she cannot | | | | * 10. Am I ready and willing to do the program, |
| make scientific claims.) | | | | or would it be too stressful? |
| * 3. What are the specific benefits claimed for | | | | (Excess stress reduces, or may even inhibit, |
| using this program? | | | | neurogenesis-the creation of new neurons-. So, it |
| (Some programs present the benefits in such a | | | | is important to make sure not to do things that |
| nebulous way that it is impossible to tell if they will | | | | stress us in unhealthy ways.) |
| have any results or not.) | | | | We hope this information is useful. Now, go and |
| * 4. Does the program tell me what part of my | | | | exercise your brain! |