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Train Your Brain with These Brilliant Apps – Competition

Train Your Brain with These Brilliant Apps – Competition
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  • iD Mobile Employee
  • 118 replies

​It’s time to train your brain!

Whether you work 9-5 or study, or both, it can be tricky to get your mind into razor-sharp focus without the stimuli of your regular working space.

Giving your brain regular exercises is as great way to regain that focus and prepare yourself to handle anything that comes your way, whether it’s a problem that needs solving or several tasks that demand attention at the same time.

When you train your mind, you’re actually giving yourself the tools to complete tasks that you might have struggled with before, or even considered impossible. That’s why setting a little time aside each day for mental exercises can help you work, study, focus, and retain information more effectively.

Here are a few apps to help you on your brain training journey:

 

Lumosity

Free (Android, iOS)

 


Lumosity is one of the most well-known brain training apps around, and it’s no surprise. This app has something for everyone. Whether you want to improve your mental maths skills, add more words to your vocab, or improve your memory, Lumosity can help.

Every game is fun and engaging, and some are more stressful than others (Train of Thought, we’re looking at you). But the results are there to be seen. You’ll get insight into your brain speed, memory, attention and more, and you can even compare your stats to other Lumosity users.

And with Lumosity Premium (£59.99/year), you can unlock a whole lot more including a personalised training program that works for you, in-depth insights and useful tips on how to improve. Handy.

 

NeuroNation

Free (Android, iOS)

 


We love this app. The premise is simple – exercising the mind is as important as exercising the body.

There are over 30 great exercises for memory and concentration, and just 15 minutes a day is all that’s required to help improve your memory, thinking speed, focus, and even reduce stress.

Don’t just take our word for it though. A study was undertaken at the Department of General Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin, proving the app’s effectiveness. And it’s been awarded with the Google ‘Best Apps’ prize, too.

A premium subscription (£83.99/year) offers a comprehensive training program with full personalisation, but we recommend giving the free version a go first. It’s still ace.

 

 

Elevate

Free (Android, iOS)

 

 

Elevate is all about personalisation from the get-go. It offers personalised daily training sessions to suit you. Awarded ‘App of the Year’ for iPhones by Apple in 2014, this app puts your goals in mind before you even start. You can train to retain more of what you read, articulate your thoughts more clearly, process information faster, the list goes on.

You’ll need to take a quick test so the app can see your current level for each skill. Once that’s completed, the app will adjust the difficulty of each training game. It’s not just for your phone, either. You can track your performance progress on your Apple Watch, just like your physical fitness stats.

A premium subscription costs £37.99 a year, with a 7-day trial to begin. 

 

​​​​​​Competition Time:

 

We’re giving a £100 Currys PC World voucher to one lucky member from our brilliant Community - treat yourself to some top tech, on us!

For your chance to win, answer the question below:

‘What do you do to keep your mind in focus?’

Do you play games to improve cognitive ability and memory, use apps, or even go back to your classic Nintendo DS for some Brain Training nostalgia? Let us know.

Best of luck!

May’s Competition T&C’s


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99 replies

Userlevel 1

Have a bit of quiet time in the mornings before starting anything.  Occasionally play some Sudoku to exercise the grey cells.

Userlevel 1

I play Sudoku using a Sudoku app on my phone to keep my brain in shape. There are daily challenges and different levels of difficulty to really stretch the grey matter.

Userlevel 1

Before my day begins I enjoy meditation to train my brain. During the day I like to play chess, dominoes and card games with my family, good for bonding. In the evening playing my bass guitar trains my brain because instruments are challenging. Using apps for brain training is not common practise for me but I will try the three recommended brain training apps and see what I think...

Userlevel 8
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I play with my dog and teach her new tricks. It requires from me a lot of patience, focus and repetition. I think we both take a lot good brain time from these interactions.

Userlevel 2

I use apps such as Duolingo that I can learn something from, as well as listening to Audible while running, which makes for an oddly meditative experience!

Userlevel 1

I still use my old pink Nintendo ds to play brain training games and I love to solve sudoku puzzles but most of all I love learning languages , it really engages the brain and there’s so many ways to do it , from watching foreign subtitled shows to sitting down with a foreign book and translating it line by line . It’s a productive way to have some fun!

Userlevel 1

I like to do crosswords when I buy magazines. I love reading real life stories then trying some of the crosswords. I also have children so there homework also exercises my brain

Userlevel 1

I love app-based word games, playing traditional board games and just enjoying the great outdoors too. All these things contribute to having a happy healthy mind. The suggestions in this blog sound ace too though!

Userlevel 1

I try to have a couple of “projects” on the go, such as DIY, long energetic hikes, gardening, etc.  One or more involving me learning something new or re-learning something I haven’t done for a while.

Userlevel 1

I first commence by taking a walk around the park to stimulate my brain. This is then followed by sudoku and cross-words and mathematics questions. This gives me a rounded approach and this augmented with a lot of healthy meals keeps my mind in focus. Best wishes, Dr Anand Sengodan, asengodan@yahoo.co.uk.

I do like a game of Rummikub using their Android app on my phone, that certainly gets you thinking.

Userlevel 1

I do Sudoku puzzles our breakfast to keep my mind active.

for  me i find painting helps me to focus

I like to play sudoku and scrabble on apps on my phone, I also enjoy a crossword!!

Userlevel 2

I like a little sudoku and lots of coffee :nerd:. My brain needs all the stimulation it can get.

I took up mindfulness meditation to help with anxiety but I noticed it improved my concentration enormously.

Often when I'm tired or not thinking clearly, just a glass of water can help perk me up a bit.

I like to relax in the evening, doing an online jigsaw, usually followed by some card games such as freecell or solitaire. I also like tackling crosswords and other word or mathgames in the weekend paper.

Userlevel 3

I solve differential equations while simultaneously doing mentalcalculus to exercise my brain. 

Userlevel 1

I like simulation app games like 'Make it true' or 'Space flight' and sometimes calming music is heaven.

Userlevel 2

I help my 9 year old son with his maths homework that's enough to exercise anyone's brain :-)

Shut my eyes and take deep breaths !

I love playing problem solving games to keep my mind active and focused.

A bit of sudoku when I can, it’s relaxing too. Forgot the brain training from the DS days!

Gaming, reading or doing various puzzles

I love solving Rubik’s Cubes! I’m not very fast but applying the algorithms and solving the puzzle really keeps my brain active, I can solve a 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5. To put into perspective how slow I am, my personal best on a 3x3 cube is about 1m30s compared to my little brother’s 30s. He is practising to become a speed cuber and while he is no record breaker as of yet, he can solve many more puzzles, like the Square-1 (google it, it’s bonkers!), the Megaminx (again it’s crazy!), as well as the regular cube puzzles. I also work in graphic design and video editing for a small company, so I like to use my creative skills to keep my brain active, and have attempted (very poorly) to mix music.

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