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The New Science of Brain Workouts, Beyond Sudoku and Crosswords

The Washington Post

Ariana Eunjung Cha

Emerging evidence suggests that only certain types of training produce meaningful benefits, and those benefits may differ between men and women.

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“Right now we only focus on the brain when something goes wrong. But we are finding that there may be things we can do for prevention.” Sandra Bond Chapman Chief Director of Center for BrainHealth

Overview

New findings in neuroscience are expanding the concept of brain fitness beyond traditional puzzles and memory games, highlighting activities that more directly support cognitive health and performance. The growing focus on evidence-based strategies for strengthening the brain closely aligns with Center for BrainHealth’s mission to advance research and practical approaches that help individuals build cognitive resilience and optimize brain function.This topic also shifts attention from popular assumptions about mental stimulation to science-backed strategies shown to produce meaningful cognitive benefits. Current neuroscience points to activities like learning a language, playing music, mastering new skills and even walking as brain-boosting activities. Emerging evidence even identifies specific approaches to brain training shown to help optimize meaningful benefits and suggests that benefits may differ between men and women and that the biggest gains may be realized by individuals with the most room for improvement.In order to advance public health, Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas is leading an effort to create a more comprehensive brain health metric. Chapman's team has created a BrainHealth® Index combines measures of executive function, emotional well-being and social connectedness into a single score designed to track how an individual’s brain changes over time. Read more at the Washington Post
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Sandi Chapman, Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth, Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project, Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor

Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD

Chief Director Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project

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