Three apps to a healthier brain

Get the juices flowing in your brain with these games and training apps to a healthier and happier mind.

Our minds are just as important to exercise as our bodies. While it’s easier to keep our brains active when we’re younger due to schooling, entering the workforce and discovering all there is in the world, it can be more difficult as we get older.

While crosswords, quizzes and Sudoku puzzles are great for getting the juices flowing, technology has really helped in this area with the popularity of brain games. Easy to access (if you have a compatible device and an internet connection) and fun to play, it’s no surprise brain training games, activities and training sessions continue to grow with fans of all ages all across the world.

It’s never too early or late to start engaging your mind, as brain health can be improved and protected at any age. Here are a few of the most popular brain training apps available across smartphones and tablets.

FitBrains
Get ready to exercise your brain! This free app is a brain training and fitness app with more than 360 games and training sessions designed to improve your memory, processing speed, concentration, problem solving and visual skills. The “scientifically-designed” brain fitness program was developed by Dr Paul Nussbaum, who is one of the top clinical neuropsychologists in the US.

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The games and training sessions will see you working on completing patterns, testing your spatial awareness and testing your memory by remembering sequences. The great thing about this app is that it also has a brain tools page, so you can track your progress each day and over longer periods of time. The developers say you only need to play for a few minutes a day to keep your brain in top condition.

Lumosity
Over 60 million people use Lumosity to get their brains ticking. The “scientifically developed” online brain fitness program, which you can access on your phone, tablet and computer, was designed with the help of neuroscience and cognitive psychology experts from some of the top universities in the US. It was created to help adults of all ages improve their memory and attention with over 40 fun and effective brain workouts.

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The user-friendly design and varied games has seen Lumosity’s popularity and reach continue to grow, with the difficulty level of each exercise adjusting to the ability of the user. The great thing about this software is that it provides useful information on what parts of the brain are being exercised as you do an activity or game, with a progress report available after each session.

BrainyApp
This free app was developed to help raise awareness of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, and to help keep your brain healthy. It was developed by Alzheimer’s Australia, with the help of Bupa Health Foundation, to help give you an idea about how brain healthy you are and to help improve your brain health with activities.

There are more than 332,000 Australians currently living with dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people with dementia is expected to be almost 900,000 by 2050. While those are scary statistics, you reduce your chances of developing the diseases by keeping your brain active.