A growing body of research suggests that brain training apps can have a significant impact on cognitive function. Now only do they help with memory, reaction time, and decision-making skills, but research also suggests that brain training games can help to reduce the risk of cognitive conditions like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, brain training apps have been shown to improve attention span and mental agility, enabling participants to solve problems more quickly and efficiently.
In this article, we run through six of the most popular brain training apps of 2023.
1. Luminosity
Luminosity ranks as one of the most popular brain training apps globally today, and it is used by more than 100 million members worldwide. The app provides 5-minute cognitive workouts, featuring a selection of science-based games that are designed by experts to exercise memory, attention, speed, flexibility, and problem-solving skills.
Players can work out daily with a fresh set of games to keep them mentally challenged. In addition, detailed progress tracking helps users to measure their long-term progress.
Luminosity takes tasks from the lab, transforming them into fun games. Recognizing that all brains are different, the app interprets player skills, adapting to each individual player’s unique strength and weaknesses. Luminosity provides players with rich insights into their cognition, as well as actionable feedback.
2. CogniFit Brain Fitness
For those seeking to enhance their memory, concentration, and other cognitive abilities, the CogniFit app features sleek, fun games designed by neuroscientists to allow users to not only track their progress, but gain valuable insights into their overall brain health. The app also enables competitive users to take on their friends in challenges.
Following a quiz, the app adapts the difficulty level of each game to the user’s profile, providing them with recommendations based on their results. The app’s developers report that users who spend at least 20 minutes using the app twice a week will see an improvement in cognitive function.
3. PsychologyCompass
Touted as a “cognition coach in your pocket,” PsychologyCompass was created to help users overcome anxiety, enhance learning and memory, and improve their leadership skills. PsychologyCompass Head of Research Dr. Elizabeth Gilbert indicates that the app was designed to strengthen cognitive skills through short, weekly lessons that, with practice, become helpful automatic habits.
Launched to help knowledge-workers achieve their peak mental performance in a measurable way by relying on science, the app was built by a team of serial tech entrepreneurs, PhDs in neuroscience and psychology, and designers and product developers. Boasting more than three decades of experience in research across a range of psychology and neuroscience disciplines, the team previously built one of Canada’s top 50 fastest-growing tech companies.
PsychologyCompass is a fully automated cognition coach that is backed by science, helping modern knowledge workers to hone their cognitive skills, improve their focus, communication, and decision-making capabilities through a range of weekly, bite-sized lessons.
4. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training
Although it was not the game’s first iteration, the Nintendo DS version of Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training propelled brain training into the mainstream.
Nintendo launched a new Switch version of the game in 2019. As before, players face a series of daily challenges, the game tracking their performance so that users can see how they are doing over time. Featuring fun little games that do not seem too taxing, the game encourages users to flex mental muscles rarely exercised in everyday life.
5. Elevate
Featuring more than 35 interactive games, Elevate is designed to help users exercise skills like memory, focus, math, processing, reading, and more. Elevate ranks among the most popular brain training apps on the market today.
When launched for the first time, the app guides users through a series of tests to assess their skills, assigning a score of between 0-5,000. Each user then receives their own tailor-made training program that adjusts over time in order to maximize results.
Elevate has both free and paid versions. While the free version enables users to unlock up to 21 games, playing three of them daily, the pro version unlocks all brain training games, enabling members to practice up to five different games per day.
6. MentalUP
Designed for children, MentalUp comprises more than 100 educational games to test players and help theme expand their skills. Adopting an academic approach, with entertaining, scientific, ad-free games, the app is loved by more than 10 million users worldwide. MentalUp is popular with children, parents, and teachers alike, providing a safe and fun platform for children.
MentalUp was named Best Family-Friendly Product in the U.S. Teachers and Moms’ Mom’s Choice Awards. Designed for children of all ages, MentalUp provides advanced performance tracking, enabling parents to track their child’s development through simple-to-navigate dashboards and rich reporting modules.