Fit Brains - Guilt Free Fun!

This is a typical question raised by the market as the business of computerized mental fitness software grows. It is clear that the human brain is capable of being shaped with greatest growth seen perhaps in the latter rather than younger years. There are a variety of products to choose from and the consumer is correct to have questions about the what and why regarding these software training games.

 Research has been published supporting both the short term and long term benefits (five years) of using computerized brain fitness software to improve cognitive skills. A recent study from the University of Michigan showed study participants improved their fluid intelligence after consistent training. Researchers explained the utility of such training due to its complexity and transfer of skill acquisition to multiple cognitive domains, not just to the skill being trained. This is one way computerized training is explained to be better than crossword puzzles that may simply train a procedure.

 To the extent that computerized mental fitness software provides novel and complex stimuli, is fun, and is practical with application to everyday mental challenges I believe it will survive and thrive. If the software training programs are mundane, non personal and not fun the consumer will likely not remain engaged. The latter is a necessary factor for success of the computerized training.

 Consumers would be wise to review the science behind the computerized training, select products that they will use, products that provide training in real world cognitive challenges, and that are fun.

The market has witnessed a surge in the mental fitness software industry. More companies are purporting to be the best at training your brain and helping to sharpen cognitive or thinking skills.

One primary concern for this industry is to create software that is both fun and personally relevant. In fact, a primary focus of FitBrains is to be the leader of fun and personal relevance within the industry of mental exercise software. I believe that games can be both fun and have real life and personal value to a consumer.

We are all confronted with life’s daily challenges, each of which places demands on our brain for solutions or action. It is within this arena that FitBrains has captured the personal value: creating games that actually tap into real world challenges for the consumer. How many times have you lost a pair of socks in the laundry, forgotten the name of someone you met, misplaced your car keys or perhaps the car itself in the parking garage? Life provides us with real world games and the opportunity for real world mental exercise.

FitBrains takes this reality and champions mental exercise for the fun and personally relevant. We believe your arousal level will increase and you will be more deeply engaged in the mental exercise. Why? The task is more valuable or meaningful to you as a person. Companies that simply develop memory games or language games without the value of personal relevance are simply tasks to be completed. Personalization sparks long term commitment by the consumer for a healthy brain.

Nearly everyone experiences the inability to recall a name or to struggle trying to find the correct word. These moments are referred to “tip of the tongue” phenomena and can be quite frustrating. The good news is that word finding problems is not necessarily a sign of pathology or disease, and indeed likely represents changes that occur with the normal aging process.

Around the age of 50 our brains begin to change structurally and functionally. We lose brain cells over the lifespan with a disproportionate number of cells lost in the frontal lobes. These are normal changes and the functional change associated with aging is also considered normal. We tend not to freely recall information, our information processing speed slows, and we may struggle with word finding. Once again, these are typically considered normal changes with aging and it is most common to experience such changes around age 50.

I believe that brain exercise, particularly in the cognitive areas listed above, can help to keep these functions relatively sharp and maintained. Passivity certainly will not help the brain and indeed it may exacerbate the changes in our cognitive processes.

Get started today on your mental exercises and turn to FitBrains as your source for a good brain workout.

Hello!  My name is Mark Baxter, and I am a Co-founder and the Vice President of Product Development here at Fit Brains.  I have a background in Psychology and have over 8 years of experience in the Games & New Media Industry creating top-quality games for broad audiences, including several hit titles on entertainment portals including Shockwave, Yahoo! and RealArcade.

I will be regularly blogging on a variety of perspectives related to Health and Entertainment, with a significant focus on Brain Fitness.  As such, I will be exploring topics relating to Psychology & Mental Wellness, ‘Serious’ & ‘Casual’ Gaming, and Online Social Communities.  Serious Games – defined as interactive content that uses entertainment for the purpose of education and/or training – has only recently gained wider acceptance with the advent of industry gatherings like the Serious Games Initiative in 2002.  This genre is growing quickly and covers a wide range of topics, including: education, corporate training, health and environmental awareness, to name just a few.

Increasingly our society is becoming aware of a concept that has long been at the foundation of effective children’s education: fun can be a great motivator for learning and growth!  Fortunately, at Fit Brains we very much believe that the value of fun as a motivator applies to adults as well.  If we can make important aspects of our daily routine more accessible and engaging, we are more likely to do things we might not be as motivated to do – especially items like long-term health goals that are often difficult to maintain.

For instance, do you have greater interest in enjoyable physical activities like golf or rollerblading, or a prescribed fitness regimen?  Are you more likely to stick to a diet with food that’s healthy but bland, or food that’s healthy and tastes good?  For most, the answers to these questions are self-evident; any task that can be made more enjoyable will also be easier to integrate more consistently into our daily lives.  In the coming weeks and months, I will be exploring a variety of ways that Serious Games are gaining mainstream acceptance, and also take a look at the growing body of research that demonstrates their value in our everyday lives.

We believe that entertainment is a great motivational tool for healthy living.  Our goal is to provide you with a wide variety of entertaining games & activities that have a solid foundation in cognitive science.  At Fit Brains, we harness the power of FUN to help you keep your mind healthy and sharp!

More and more we hear and read about the supposed powers of mental exercise. While this seems to make sense it is natural to wonder how and why a “brain workout” is beneficial.

We have learned within the past decade that the human brain has the ability to generate new brain cells (neurogenesis). The hippocampus, a structure that lies deep in the middle of each temporal lobe and serves functions of memory, learning, and spatial representation, is the site of such neurogenesis. Interestingly, this is the exact site of neurogenesis established in rodents in the 1950s. There appears to be something critically important about the hippocampus with regard to new brain cell development.

Similar to rodent brains the human brain reacts to environmental input in generally predictable ways. Damaging, punishing, and negative input can do structural and functional damage to the hippocampus. In contrast, positive, nurturing, and stimulating input can help to foster structural and functional enhancements. As we noted earlier on this blog, the human brain seeks and enjoys mental stimulation and exposure to the “novel and complex.”

A daily brain workout can help to provide the brain (cortex) the stimulation it seeks. Environments that are considered complex and novel by your brain will provide the most benefit particularly when compared to input that is rote and passive. Daily brain workouts that challenge the cortex will also help to build new cellular connections (synapses) that in turn reflect “brain reserve.” Recall, brain reserve is believed to delay the onset of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

One of the greatest fears of the baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, is the loss of memory and onset of dementia. A proactive approach to try and delay the onset of such loss and disease is a lifelong brain health lifestyle, part of which includes daily exposure to the novel and complex. The Brain Health Workout makes good sense so get started today!!

Here is part 2 to the inital brain health blog from Dr. Nussbaum.

 Your Brain Health

1. Brain health begins in the womb and needs to be promoted across your lifespan.

2. Engage in the novel and complex not the rote and passive.

3.Consider the following Brain Health Lifestyle to build up your brain reserve:

Five Domains of the Brain Health Lifestyle: Socialization 

• Do not isolate or segregate as you get older. People who isolate have a higher risk for dementia.

• Join groups and social organizations in your community.

• Maintain and build your friendship and family network.

• Be forgiving.

• Develop hobbies.

• Do not retire.

Physical Activity

• Walk between 7,000 and 12,000 steps daily. Walking several times a week reduces the risk of dementia.

• Buy yourself a pedometer to remind yourself to walk and to keep track of your daily steps.

• Dance as this is a behavior that reduces the risk of dementia.

• Garden and Knitting reduce the risk of dementia.

• Aerobic exercise will help the heart and thereby feed the brain with the necessary blood and oxygen. It also promotes cognitive functioning such as memory and is now believed to relate to positive structural changes in the brain.

• Use both sides of your body more often: Become ambidextrous.

Mental Stimulation

• Learn a second language.

• Read and write (use your nondominant hand) on a daily basis: the more complex the better.

• Learn sign language as it increases IQ and increased IQ reduces the risk of dementia.

• Play board games as board game playing reduces the risk of dementia.

• Travel reduces the risk of dementia because it involves a new and complex environment.

• Play a musical instrument.

• Listen to classic music as it helps to increase learning.

• Problem solve.

Spirituality

• Pray on a daily basis as it enhances your immune system.

• Attend regularly a formal place of worship at it relates to better quality of life and longevity.

• Learn to meditate in order to slow down. Animals exposed to environments that are too stimulating demonstrate slowed brain development.

• Learn relaxation procedures with deep breathing and muscle relaxation.

• Slow down and do not be afraid to say “no”.

Nutrition

• Eat 80% of what you intend to eat at each meal. Reasonable caloric restriction can increase your longevity.

• Eat with utensils and you will eat less and also eat healthier foods.

• Increase your intake of Omega 3 fatty acids. This includes fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and herring. Several ounces of salmon weekly reduce the risk of dementia. Walnuts and unsalted nuts are also good for you.

• Increase your intake of antioxidants. This includes Vitamins C and E. Colored fruits (grapes, apples, cantaloupe, and berries) and vegetables are good for you. The FDA recommends five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

• Decrease your intake of processed foods and red meats. Lean meat such as chicken breast without skin is relatively okay.

• Green leafy vegetables are good for you.

• Eat one sit down meal with others a day. This activity provides many brain boosting effects at once (classic music, language, eating with utensils, slowing down, eating healthier foods).

Hello, I am Dr. Paul Nussbaum, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Fit Brains, and I am happy to introduce myself to the Ft Brains’ community.  My background is in clinical neuropsychology, and I specialize in brain health and aging across the lifespan.  Currently, I maintain an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

This is my first posting, and I will be bogging weekly.  In the days to come, I plan on covering many subjects in the area of brain health.  Today’s blog will be the first part in this series.

Your Brain Health 

The single greatest system ever designed in the history of the universe is your brain. Your brain is responsible for your every thought, emotion, and behavior. Unfortunately we humans do not know much about our brains and it is time to change that.

Brain Basics: 

1. Your brain weighs 2 to 4 pounds.

2. Your brain is comprised of 60% fat and is the fattiest system in your body.

3. Your brain consumes 25% of the blood from every heartbeat.

4. Your brain has two sides or hemispheres (left hemisphere and right hemisphere).

• Left hemisphere helps you with language, detail, and analysis

• Right hemisphere helps you with faces, spatial orientation, sounds.

5. Your brain has a Cortex and Subcortex.

• Your Cortex is conscious and helps you learn, remember, communicate, Read, write, orient to space, process sensory information, and personality.

• Your Subcortex processes subconscious motor or procedural behaviors such as dressing, driving, and typing on your computer.

• Your Cortex and Subcortex interact as a beautiful symphony.

6. Your hippocampus is the structure in your brain (sits in the middle of each temporal lobe just under each temple on your skull) that enables you to learn.

New Ideas about Your Brain:

•  The human brain (like the animal brain) can generate new brain cells. This new brain cell development (neurogenesis) occurs in the hippocampus.

• The human brain is now thought to have “neural plasticity” or be a system that is highly dynamic, constantly reorganizing, and malleable. It is shaped by environmental input.

• Our brains need exposure to environments that are enriched, complex and novel. Environments that are passive and rote do not help the health of your brain.

• Exposure to enriched environments across your lifespan will lead to new brain cell development and increased cellular connections (“Synaptic Density”). Synaptic Density or Brain Reserve may help to delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

Hello and welcome to the first official Fit Brains’ blog!  Let me introduce myself.  I am Michael Cole, the founder and CEO of Vivity Labs, creator of Fit Brains.

Fit Brains is developing a web experience that will be the first of its kind, appealing to adults of all ages and will elevate the concept and acceptance of brain fitness to the mainstream.  We will do this through a unique combination of interactive games, personalization tools and community features.  Our team understands that the key ingredient for mass adoption of brain fitness will be the “fun factor”, and is developing scientifically based workouts that are engaging and fun.

Among other topics, the Fit Brains blog will discuss recent brain health news, allowing our readers to stay up-to-date on the latest developments.  In addition, guest bloggers who are experts in their respective fields, will contribute to the discussions.  

Stay tuned - Fit Brains will be adding a lot of exiciting features in the weeks ahead.  I invite you to become an active member and help grow the Fit Brains community.  Technorati Profile