Top 5 technology hacks to improve your mind
“Noah is frantically Brain Training” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by justin
In the past, training one’s mind involved such painstaking tasks as pouring over endless books for knowledge and performing memory training routines to boost recall. Luckily in this era of advanced technology, there are a few convenient hacks that can help boost the mind’s potential significantly.
Brain Fitness Pro
According to the New York Times, Brain Fitness Pro is “like boot camp for the brain.” The app claims to be able to increase short-term memory by up to 40% in less than 20 days with a mere 30 minutes per day of training. It puts users through a vigorous set of challenges to help them tap into parts of the brain that may have become inactive through ageing, depression, or stress. Created by Mind Sparke and available on iOS only, this rigorous app is a great starting point to improving brain function, before moving on to more specific challenges, like card counting.
Fancy yourself as a genius card counter? This card counting trainer will put you through your paces until you have no doubt as to when the best time to stand, hit, or increase your bet is. The system involves counting +1 for any card between 1-6, 0 for 7, 8, and 9, and -1 for 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. Start off slow and increase the dealing speed until you’re as slick as the pros and your memory is as finely tuned as a Ferrari F12.
A Clockwork Brain
Clockwork Brain uses sets of “insanely fun puzzles” to help users train their brains and improve their minds. The series of mini-games help to improve different cognitive aspects. For example, Solo involves studying symbols and picking the odd one out and improves attention, Label It requires users to label a picture and improves language, and Chase the Numbers improves memory.
Stop
Stop is an insanely fun game in which players can challenge their friends or a random opponent in a battle of knowledge. 5 categories that include things like “trees,” “cheeses,” and “Oscar nominated actors” are drawn at random, followed by the spin of a wheel to reveal a letter. The player then has a minute to think of a word beginning with the letter for each category. When finished, the player who starts the round can hit “Stop”, which gives their opponent less time to complete their turn. This game is a fantastic way to tap into lost knowledge floating around in the dusty and neglected regions of your brain, and get you thinking fast under pressure.
This app that uses clinically validated tools to boost wellbeing is in CNN’s list of top 10 brain training apps. And according to Dr Tony Simon of University of California Davis, it is a “rare example of science turned into fun to reduce stress and anxiety.” With only a few minutes playing each day, a few days a week, it boosts stress resilience and decreases anxiety. The app involves users playing a fun game while their brains subconsciously learn to focus on the positives in life, rather than dwelling on the negatives.
Try out one or all of these apps today and start your journey towards being the proud owner of a well-oiled, high functioning brain.
