Because of social media and the vast amount of information, people have difficulty remembering, concentrating, and making decisions. Today, this problem is faced not only by people of age but also by young students. It becomes a real problem for them because they need to memorize a lot of information, do hard assignments and actively absorb the topics of core subjects. To cope with all this by yourself and not to get paper help, we’ve chosen apps that improve cognitive abilities and quality of life.
1. Elevate
An app for developing eloquence, reading, writing, and math skills. You start by choosing the categories you want to develop and take a two-minute quiz to personalize your training.
When a plan is made, you get instructions for each task and an explanation of how it helps improve ability. This practice will help you increase your reading speed.” The first round is 200 words per minute.
After completing the task, the app makes a graph. Elevate customizes training, tracks progress, and analyzes performance and achievement. The exercises are compiled by neuroscience experts and are scientifically proven in their effectiveness.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
2. NeuroNation
NeuroNation offers solutions to three problems: poor memory, poor concentration, and thinking too slowly. Studies have shown that this app reduces stress, decreases the chance of depression and the risk of dementia.
Before you start training, you take a test to determine your growth areas in each direction – “Memory,” “Concentration,” “Attention,” and “Speed.”
Your results are compared with those of people of the same age to make a comparative chart. There are 20 tasks on 250 levels. The effectiveness of the exercises is scientifically proven.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
3. CogniFit
The CogniFit app identifies 23 cognitive skills and shows how they are developed through exercise. You have access to:
- memory practices
- logic tasks
- exercises aimed at reaction rate and reasoning
- exercises for attention and concentration
- Games of mental agility
- Games for different ages
- Driver training programs.
The app also has special exercise programs for people with dementia, memory loss, Parkinson’s disease, brain injuries, cancer, insomnia, and other illnesses.
The games are varied and interesting. One of them is Mahjong, but not in the classic sense of Chinese entertainment (although there is also plenty of excitement). You need to collect combinations of the same image – you can only use the dice that are on the edge or top and are not covered by other dice.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
4. Peak
The app offers to develop memory, attention, problem solving, mental agility, language, coordination, creativity, and emotion control.
In the beginning, you have to choose categories that interest you – then start learning. Before each game (there are more than 40) the rules are explained. For example, to develop attention, you need to place numbers from smallest to largest or sort paper cranes by color. It seems simple at first glance, but the limited time complicates the task.
Experts in neuroscience, cognitive science, and learning have worked on the games. Professors at Cambridge made the greatest contribution. After each practice session, the results are compared with those of people in your age group.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
5. Lumosity
This app has 7 categories of educational games: “Memory”, “Attention”, “Flexibility”, “Problem Solving”, “Speed”, “Mathematics”, “Language”. First, you have to take a test to determine your level. To do this, they offer to play three games. Then the results are processed and offered an individual training program.
In the first game, you need to answer whether the color of the word matches the color written on the card, for example, when yellow is written in red. This is one of the oldest and best-known psychological tests – the Stroop test, which determines the flexibility of cognitive thinking. The second game tests the ability to divide attention, and the third game tests memory. You get graphs that show your development, and you’re encouraged and motivated during the training.
Available on Google Play and the App Store.
6. Duolingo
You can pump your brain not only with the help of educational games. Another proven way is to learn foreign languages. Duolingo, the most popular app in the “Education” section of the App Store – has been downloaded 99 million times.
The first thing you need to do is choose a language – the biggest choice is for users who speak English. Duolingo uses different teaching methods: reading, listening to the pronunciation, forming phrases, recording the student’s pronunciation, finding pictures to words.
The app is gamified, so it’s easy not to miss lessons. You can learn both with your phone and your computer. Duolingo also balances friend and teacher – it can send an alert with a hint that it’s time to study, but at the same time stay cute.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
7. Chess
Chess develops critical and abstract thinking, attention, concentration, problem-solving, strategic planning, and the ability to make choices, and that’s not a complete list. We found a handy chess app where you can:
- play with other people online
- to play games with your phone
- solve short puzzles, for example, which piece to use in a certain situation
- train your peripheral vision and learn to quickly orientate on the board
- read useful material about chess
If you’re just starting to play, you can include hints.
Available on Google Play and App Store.
