Photo by amana images/
Getty Images
|
Let's Get Quizzical
By Laura Kiniry, May & June 2009
Brain gyms help you stay sharp, with memory-boosting games
|
 
Mary McKenzie of Mill Valley, California, works out twice a week—but never sweats. That's because the 55-year-old lawyer is exercising her brain. Now fitness centers for the mind are not only in hospitals and assisted-living centers but also in stand-alone "brain gyms." Most gyms, such as southern California's Nifty After Fifty chain and MindSpa Mental Fitness Center in Sarasota, Florida, are based in computer labs (though Nifty After Fifty offers full-body workout facilities, too). Users play attention-improving games—such as clicking one flashing image while visually tracking another—and do timed word teasers to boost processing speed. Monthly fees can start at $50, yet members say the expense is worth it: a 2006 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that certain brain workouts can help improve reasoning and memory. After a year at San Francisco's vibrantBrains, says McKenzie, her concentration and ability to recall names have improved. At home you can brain-train for less than $10 monthly with online programs from Lumos Labs (415-259-4100) and HAPPYneuron (408-973-0980), or play for free at braingames1.aarp.org.
|
