A new study indicates that you might be able to train your brain to maintain its health as you age, but it’s important to choose the right game for this purpose.
The findings surprised neurologist Marilyn Albert, a researcher involved in the analysis. She remarked, “It’s an astonishing result. It’s made me think I really need to get online and try the training.”
Called the ACTIV study, this research, backed by the US National Institutes of Health, is touted as the largest cognitive training investigation globally. It spanned two decades, involving a varied group of 2,000 participants aged 65 and older across the United States.
While the study was independent and academic in nature, the effective brain training is available online through Posit Science, a company Albert isn’t associated with. Their Brain HQ platform provides numerous cognitive games, yet only one game from their offerings was part of the study, and it alone showed a measurable impact on a person’s long-term dementia risk.
Speed training appears to enhance brain connectivity as we age
During the study, participants were randomly assigned to four groups: one control group without training, and three active groups each engaging with a specific game believed to enhance cognitive function based on prior research.
These games included:
- A memory game that isn’t available for purchase
- A problem-solving game, also unavailable for purchase
- The winning speed training game, named “Double Decision”
Only those engaging in the speed training demonstrated significant, long-term enhancements in their brain health, exhibiting a 25% lower risk of developing dementia compared to other groups. The researchers tracked dementia diagnoses over time using Medicare claims data.
Participants were not required to commit extensive time to training; they roughly completed one or two sessions of about 60 to 75 minutes each week for the first six weeks. Afterward, they received “booster” sessions, totaling up to four additional 75-minute trainings about a year later, with another four sessions three years after that.
What’s the experience like with this game? Challenging.
For years, general guidance on reducing dementia risk has been somewhat vague: maintaining a healthy diet, getting some exercise, and managing high blood pressure.
Albert pointed out, “To me, this really changes the conversation. It’s enormously convincing.”
Joyce Grego, a 71-year-old retired teacher who has been playing Double Decision for several years, noted she began BrainHQ exercises around 2019 while exploring concepts like brain plasticity and regeneration.
“People used to think the brain was static, but it can grow,” she explained, adding that now she engages in a few brain games daily.
She feels different from her peers now—sharper, in fact. Grego claims she excels in word recall compared to others and pays attention to details her peers might miss, especially while driving. “I just am very aware of my surroundings,” she said, attributing her heightened awareness to playing Double Decision.
The game requires dual-tasking and also adapts to the player’s skill level—speeding up as users improve or slowing down if they’re facing difficulties. This characteristic likely contributes to its effectiveness, continuously providing an appropriate level of challenge. It resembles another popular game known as EndeavorOTC, recently approved for treating adult ADHD. The other games played in this study lacked this adaptive quality.
“It goes really fast,” Grego noted. “Sometimes it feels like, I have no idea where this is, what circle I’m supposed to hit. But your brain takes in the entire picture.” Grego genuinely believes in BrainHQ and has even offered subscriptions to friends and family, which run between $8 and $14 monthly. Some have tried it but found it too challenging or time-consuming.
“Hard is good,” she remarked, reflecting on the idea of hormesis, where slight stress can be beneficial for longevity. “You feel you’re making cognitive progress since you’re able to grasp these tasks presented to you in mere milliseconds.”
Why might it be effective?
Scientists like Albert have yet to determine the precise reasons behind this game’s apparent positive effects on brain health and reducing dementia risk, particularly over extended periods.
“My guess is that this cognitive training task enhances brain connectivity,” she suggested. It could be the speed training that aids in preserving connections between various brain regions, connections that can weaken with age. “That’s just my theory—we still lack solid data.”
Are there other off-screen activities that require quick decision-making that provide similar benefits? Some elite brain gyms offer dual-tasking challenges, and sports such as tennis or judo involve reacting to multiple stimuli at once. Could these activities yield comparable advantages?
“I wish I could confirm that,” Albert stated. “I’d prefer not to suggest this specific task is necessary; it can be quite tedious.” Sadly, researchers don’t have definitive answers about how or why this works yet. “We need to delve deeper into the mechanisms,” she acknowledged.
