Improve your brain power, mental health, learning and more (not simply IQ)

There are a number of sites where you can "test" your brain power but the best that I have come across is Lumosity. Here are ten things that they claim:

10 Things You Should Know About Lumosity.com

  1. Lumosity.com has been shown to improve memory and attention in clinical trials.
  2. 98% of Lumosity.com subscribers say they would recommend us to others.
  3. Over 10 million people have joined Lumosity.com.
  4. Lumosity.com features over 30 brain games and exercises.
  5. Lumosity.com's training program only takes 10 minutes a day.
  6. People from over 180 countries have subscribed to Lumosity.com.
  7. Lumosity.com is the exclusive provider of healthy games for The New York Times.
  8. Lumosity.com costs less than a cup of coffee a day.
  9. Lumosity.com partners with healthcare providers and media outlets.
  10. Lumosity.com can change your life.

Designed by neuroscientists and based on extensive research, Lumosity's training program promotes cognitive health by selectively challenging cognitive faculties. They use the Brain Performance Index (BPI) to measureeach performance in a given cognitive function.

Lumosity improves brain health and mental functioning. Their brain training program selectively addresses five main brain areas: memory, attention, processing speed, flexibility and problem-solving skills. By focusing on all five, our training exercises steer you toward your peak performance. No matter what your age or educational background, Lumosity can help you stay mentally fit and at the top of your game.

You can use BPI to track your performance, and compare your ability in one cognitive area to another.  Overall BPI is your average BPI across each of the five cognitive areas: attention, memory, speed, flexibility and problem solving. This number provides a concise measure of your overall brain performance. If you are weak in one area, it will bring down your overall score, so it’s a good idea to focus on the games where you scores are lowest.

While there are paid accounts, you can open a full functioning free one by going to their websiteI highly recommend giving it a go. These are fun free and provide one place for an overall perpective on yur brain performance.

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ONe resource site that I like and have often mentioned in my blog is from the BBC Science: Human body and Mind.  One example of a memory test can be found here.  Check around there are lots more.

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Perhaps slightly more functional is Gild. Gild provides you with unique tools to certify your skills, find great jobs, and advance your career all while competing and sharing with friends and peers.

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WiZiQ helps you Learn and Teach Online.

 

These are just a few of many intersting sites.  Please share any others that you think are worth a visit.

Multi Tasking and Distractions

An illustration of the box juggling pattern.Image via Wikipedia

I don't believe in multi-tasking.  This is probably because I as grow older I am note acutely aware of how poorly I juggle too many things at one time.  I like it when articles support the position that multi-tasking is not effective.  While most research in the area is related to the brain, I can't help wondering if personality is also at play.

The New York Times this week has two interactive (tests) online for you to see how well you perform on a number of tasks.  I will share with you one aspect of my results – while I did score well in getting the right answers – I was miserably hopelessly slower than both multi-taskers and non mulit-taskers.  I blame the slowness of my computer. 

Check your ability to switch between tasks and see how well you filter out distractions with a pair of tests.

  1. Test How Fast You Juggle Tasks
  2. Test Your Focus
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