What happened to my memory? I was famous (or should that be infamous?) within my circle of friends for having a “mind like a steel trap”, that is once something went in no matter how obscure it stayed in to be recalled at will, usually during Trivial Pursuits or a pub quiz. Well my long-term memory still seems to be holding up pretty well but the instant recall seems to have slowed and my short-term memory is definitely in decline.

There’s no history of dementia or Alzheimer’s in my family who thus far have shown a pleasing tendency to live well into their 80’s, so I think I would have seen it. Plenty of madness and eccentricity but no serious degenerative mental diseases. So I had resigned myself to accepting that this is just another of nature’s jokes as we get older, I’m 52 by the way.

However, recently there have been a number or articles, papers and even a TV advertising campaign starring Nicole Kidman from the “use it or lose it brigade” promoting something called Brain Training (or should that be “Braintraining”). The idea being that if you regularly do puzzles and mental tests you can reduce the effects of mental degradation that come with old age, some even claim you stave off senility.

Brain Train on the Go - Expand your mind while having fun! Perfect for both children and adults!

Brain Train To Go! is a collection of challenging mind-stimulating and edutainment games and puzzles that aim to not only entertain, but to educate and stimulate the brain at the same time.

So does it really work? Well it seems that the jury’s still out on that one. The results from the research to date are patchy. Most show that whilst a few hours of structured mental exercise will improve normal cognitive aging the improvements are modest for most people. Other studies show that building up a “cognitive reserve” throughout your life through education, occupation, social life, hobbies and interests is the most effective defence. And this is where Brain Training comes into its own as research also shows that it’s never too late to start building up that reserve.

The general recommendations that seem consistent throughout the studies seem to be that firstly do everything that you can to prevent or delay the onset of age related conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, which have a negative effect on our brains. Secondly, whilst physical exercise doesn’t seem to have any effect on memory it has been shown to be a great contributor to overall cognitive health. Thirdly, so called “Brain Training” has shown to improve specific cognitive abilities such as memory. Finally, it is also seems that it is important to maintain emotional connections with not our family and friends but with ourselves to build self confidence and maintain self esteem.

With that in mind in addition to my regular physical exercise regime I have embarked on a course of regular mental exercises, utilising some of the time that I spend at the computer for the good of my mental health. It’s easy to set up, I can fit it in to suit my time constraints and what I didn’t expect is that I enjoy it. Whilst I can’t guarantee that it’s having an effect, I do feel in myself that my mental agility is improving. That may well be the result of the feel- good factor of just completing the exercises but who cares? This may be the real benefit that you just feel better about yourself.

In reality it may be that genetics as in most aspects of human life has a plays a much greater role than doing a few puzzles, but my thoughts are what harm can it do? My gut instinct and common sense tell me that it will have some effect it’s only the degree that’s in doubt, and what’s more it’s time I take out for myself and its great fun. One final thought don’t take the games too seriously and get frustrated as research shows that avoiding stress and depression is important in maintaining good mental health.