Nintendo has launched a game that's like gym for the brain.
Across the globe, people spend time and money on exercising to prevent
their bodies from falling apart as they get older. Now, Nintendo is
asking: why don't we put the same effort into exercising our brains?
The developers of the game, called Brain Training: How Old is Your
Brain?, believe that the brain is at its optimum at age 20, and then
starts to decline, a process accelerated by routine and boredom.
The aim of Brain Training is to drive down your "brain age" with a
daily brain fitness regime that includes simple arithmetic, reading
aloud, memory games and other mental exercises that get the unused
parts of your grey matter active again.
Japanese neuroscientist Dr Ryuta Kawashima, who wrote Train Your Brain:
60 Days to a Better Brain, helped with the development of the game.
"Brain function naturally begins to deteriorate after you turn 20, just
like our physical strength gradually weakens as we age. It's important
to realise that, just as you exercise your body, you must regularly
stimulate your brain," he wrote.
Generally, when people leave schools or institutions of higher learning
they start working and their jobs require that they perform the same
repetitive tasks every day. If you feel yourself sinking into slow
thinking, it may be because you are bored and need a brain workout to
stretch you beyond the demands of your normal routine, according to
Nintendo.
Kawashima's research indicates that regular mental exercise can
significantly reduce the risk of dementia. Every seven seconds, a new
case of dementia is reported worldwide.
And Alzheimer's disease accounts for up to 70% of all cases of
dementia. Genetic predisposition accounts for 1 percent of all
Alzheimer's cases. But environmental and lifestyle factors are the
biggest culprits in the development of the disease.
As this degenerative disease progresses, thought processes, memory, behaviour and emotion are affected.
Sheila Cooper, executive director of Alzheimer's SA, says trends show
that board games, crossword puzzles, quizzes and sudoku stimulate the
mind and could delay the onset of Alzheimer's and other forms of
dementia.
That's where Brain Training comes in. Nintendo is targeting those who
wouldn't ordinarily play games, but enjoy sudoku and crosswords.
The software is simple - even technophobes will find it easy to use.
Nintendo SA general manager Matthew Grose says several retirement
villages have embraced the game, and even hardcore gamers who tested it
have commented on its addictiveness.
Source : http://www.iol.co.za/
Across the globe, people spend time and money on exercising to prevent
their bodies from falling apart as they get older. Now, Nintendo is
asking: why don't we put the same effort into exercising our brains?
The developers of the game, called Brain Training: How Old is Your
Brain?, believe that the brain is at its optimum at age 20, and then
starts to decline, a process accelerated by routine and boredom.
The aim of Brain Training is to drive down your "brain age" with a
daily brain fitness regime that includes simple arithmetic, reading
aloud, memory games and other mental exercises that get the unused
parts of your grey matter active again.
Japanese neuroscientist Dr Ryuta Kawashima, who wrote Train Your Brain:
60 Days to a Better Brain, helped with the development of the game.
"Brain function naturally begins to deteriorate after you turn 20, just
like our physical strength gradually weakens as we age. It's important
to realise that, just as you exercise your body, you must regularly
stimulate your brain," he wrote.
Generally, when people leave schools or institutions of higher learning
they start working and their jobs require that they perform the same
repetitive tasks every day. If you feel yourself sinking into slow
thinking, it may be because you are bored and need a brain workout to
stretch you beyond the demands of your normal routine, according to
Nintendo.
Kawashima's research indicates that regular mental exercise can
significantly reduce the risk of dementia. Every seven seconds, a new
case of dementia is reported worldwide.
And Alzheimer's disease accounts for up to 70% of all cases of
dementia. Genetic predisposition accounts for 1 percent of all
Alzheimer's cases. But environmental and lifestyle factors are the
biggest culprits in the development of the disease.
As this degenerative disease progresses, thought processes, memory, behaviour and emotion are affected.
Sheila Cooper, executive director of Alzheimer's SA, says trends show
that board games, crossword puzzles, quizzes and sudoku stimulate the
mind and could delay the onset of Alzheimer's and other forms of
dementia.
That's where Brain Training comes in. Nintendo is targeting those who
wouldn't ordinarily play games, but enjoy sudoku and crosswords.
The software is simple - even technophobes will find it easy to use.
Nintendo SA general manager Matthew Grose says several retirement
villages have embraced the game, and even hardcore gamers who tested it
have commented on its addictiveness.
Source : http://www.iol.co.za/
