Blog - Everything about brain health

How winter affects your brain

It's true that our brains are not as active during the winter. Winter is not a time of rest. It's the time when we go into hibernation, to save energy and prepare ourselves for the long winter ahead. It's not only the lack of sunlight that causes this. It's also the fact that we are ...

SPECT: Brain Imaging

There is a new way to analyze the brain that has been gaining popularity lately: SPECT imaging. It is a way to make brain activity visible. What this means, is that we can effectively ‘see’ problems in the brain. Knowing what is going on is the first step in figuring out how to better yo...

Smart Animals

When you think about the smartest animals on the planet, chimpanzees or perhaps dolphins may spring to mind. There are many more ‘smart’ animals that people are unaware of. More and more research is surfacing about how smart animals really are, and a lot of it is very surprising. Many an...

Effects of alcohol on the brain

We live in an age of extreme awareness of what is (and is not) good for our health. Alcohol is widely recognized as one of the things to avoid to ensure a good healthy body and brain. How bad is alcohol really, and can the damaging effects of it be reverted somehow? The effect of Alcohol on...

Athletes and Brain Training

Dawid Kubacki, four-time World Cup winner in ski jumping, has recently started using brain training to increase his ability and chances for an Olympic medal. He stated, “I believe what is going on inside the competitors’ heads is the most important thing.” He also mentioned, &ldquo...

How Much Should You Sleep?

Nowadays we are quite aware of the fact that not getting enough sleep harms our mental processes. If you have an important day ahead of you, then a good night of sleep is paramount to your success. Recently however, there has been some research suggesting that too much sleep can also be harm...

Corona Virus and Braintraining

As we live in a world that is highly affected by Covid-19, a lot of our lives revolve around learning to adapt and protect ourselves, to keep us and our family members safe. While there is a lot already discovered about this virus, there are still a lot of things we are unsure of. One of those thing...

The Subconscious & Brain Training

Everyone has heard of this term, the ‘subconscious’. What do we actually mean by that? The subconscious is the part of the brain that we are not consciously aware of. When we are doing a challenging task in our daily lives, we focus our attention on it. In the background of our mind, how...

How logical reasoning works

You use logical reasoning from simple problem solving during your work to being a jury member in court, it’s a cognitive skill we benefit from is all kinds of situations. Logic is also one of the most important factors when measuring someone’s IQ during an IQ-test. Although logical reaso...

How perception works

Your perception is key in learning and understanding the world around your perception. But how do we perceive things? And how does it affect our experiences? In this article, we’ll explain you everything you need to know about perception. What is the definition of perception? ...

How your brains thinking speed works

When talking about thinking speed, many people think about troubles to quickly come up with ideas or solutions. When talking about thinking speed, many people think about troubles to quickly come up with ideas or solutions. While you may simply want to increase your thinking speed, it is actually a ...

How your attention works

If you’re thinking about attention, you are probably imagining yourself in a situation where you have to focus on something for a while. Like you are focused on reading this article right now. But that is just a small part of what attention actually is, your attention does much more than that....

How the human memory works

When talking about memory, you probably think about remembering that unforgettable moment in life. Maybe you think about that happy childhood memory, or that person you used to know that was important to you. But memory is so much more than that. Reading, walking, recognizing the smell of your ...

The meaning of cognitive skills and how they function

Thinking, learning, remembering and paying attention, it is all made possible because of cognition. The mental processes of cognition and all the skills that are involved make it possible for our brain to do what it does. Without these processes and skills, you wouldn’t be able to remember tha...

Why brain training is not something you should miss out on

You want to lock your home while leaving, but you forgot where you've left your keys. Does this ever occur to you? You might wonder if this is something minor or the start of cognitive decline. And if this is the start of cognitive decline, can something be done about this? In this article, ...

Fullscreen brain games, brain training without any distractions

September the 5th was a big day for BrainGymmer as we are finally released the new and improved version of our games. After our first release, a new version of Flip, we continued working on renewing every single of our brain games! Fullscreen brain games, the new standard W...

Solve Mastermind codes with these five steps!

You want to solve the codes from our new brain game Mastermind, but you don’t know how? There are a lot of different strategies to solve a Mastermind code. Some strategies need fewer attempts than others and some are easier to perform. It doesn’t matter what strategy you use, there a...

The aging brain, your brain through the years

How does your brain change during your life? We like to keep our bodies active and fit, but why don't we do the same for our brain? We know when we neglect our body by doing little or no exercising, our body will age faster. But if you won't keep your brain active, you will also have a ch...

Exercising as addition to brain training

Exercise to improve your brain! It is well known that exercising is good for your body. But do you know that exercising is also good for your cognitive health? In this article, we will discuss what happens within your body and brain when you are exercising. Many scientific studies about the ef...

9 brain facts you didn't knew yet

Everyone knows how enormously important our brain is, our brain is one of the most important organs of our body. But how does our brain actually work? A lot of people don’t know the parts the brain consists of and their functions yet, this is not surprising because the brain is one of the most...

Brain games, more than just games

The difference between normal games and brain games Brain games, mind games, brain training… All these definitions are related to training the brain and cognitive functions, but what is the difference between these games and normal games? We will explain it below. While normal...

Collect Neuros

Collect Neuro's with brain training From now on it’s possible to earn points called Neuro's. It is possible to earn Neuro's by, for example, playing brain games or completing weekly or monthly goals. To create a clear picture of the Neuro point system, the goals to achieve to ea...

Easily distracted? Solve it with the Pomodoro technique

Nowadays we are busy with a lot of things at the same time. Many people (especially women) think they can get more things done by multitasking. You are watching your favourite series while you are cooking, and at the same time, you plan your appointments for this week on your agenda. Recognizable? C...

How broccoli helps prevent Alzheimer disease!

What you eat has a direct influence on your health Broccoli is one of those vegetables that contain health-boosting compounds. Broccoli can give you a sharp and mentally fit brain and can even prevent Alzheimer’s disease! Here’s what’s so good about broccoli (besides the tast...

Improve your pattern recognition with this Brain Game

The ability of quick pattern recognition has been linked to a high level of intelligence, but how does it actually work? Pattern recognition occurs when you receive information from the environment and your brain saves this into the short-term memory. Recognizing patterns allow us to predict and ex...

How BrainGymmer works

What is BrainGymmer? BrainGymmer is a game-based, online brain training program. BrainGymmer focusses on improving your cognitive functions. This includes your memory, attention, perception, logical reasoning, and thinking speed. Over 300,000 people worldwide have chosen BrainGymmer to train and ...

The science behind BrainGymmer

You don’t have to have the skills of a gymnast to train your brain like one. BrainGymmer strengthens your brain by challenging it with fun games. That’s right, guilt-free gaming that makes you mentally tougher! How does BrainGymmer work? Our brains are a lot like muscle...

How to use the 'Memory Palace' method to remember long lists

Improve your memory with this simple technique One of the bigger weaknesses of the human brain is that it is really quite poor when it comes to remembering lists. So how to improve the ability to remember lists? Although the human brain is indeed a powerful and incredible organ, it doe...

Serious gaming is serious business

What is so characteristic about serious games? We at BrainGymmer provide you with the best brain games. Research shows that serious games, are very useful to train our brain. Serious games are already being used in education, marketing, health care and even the military. Fun and seriousn...

The many ways of brain training

Adult brain development Most of the development of your brain takes place in the womb and during your childhood. But even the adult's brain is still capable of developing. Your brain is constantly changing. By repeating activities, neurological pathways between neurons are strengthened. There...

Chocolate can reduce the chances of a stroke!

Valentine's day is just around the corner! Usually, a lot more chocolate is consumed that day. But don’t feel guilty about eating chocolate! Eating moderate amounts of chocolate (especially dark chocolate) has scientifically proven benefits for your brain! Chocolate makes you...

Brain training on BrainGymmer helps after brain injury

This afternoon I am a guest at InteraktContour. InteraktContour is a Dutch organization for people who experience problems as a result of brain injury after for example, a stroke, an accident or brain tumor. InteraktContour focuses on specialized care and support. "You sp...

How good is your attention?

Some people seem to be able to do all kinds of things at the same time, while others have trouble to keep their mind focused on a single task. What makes this difference? Before we explain how this works we ask you to watch this video. The goal of the video: count how many times the team in white pa...

Things you must know about your brain!

It may not seem very interesting at first sight, but in order to understand yourself and the people around us, you must know something about the 'thing' inside your head: your brain. What are the must-knows about your brain? You will know after reading this article! Your brain is r...

What is your IQ? Test it yourself!

You hear it a lot and it is seen as one of the most important measurements of someone’s capacities: your IQ. But what exactly is IQ? Where does it come from? And is it truly such a good predictor it is claimed to be? In scientific circles, intelligence is often seen as academic or cog...

Boost your brain with this technique!

One of the goals of scientific research is to look for new ways to improve our lives. We look for new cures for diseases, we create new technology to make our lives easier and we try to find ways of becoming smarter or better at certain skills. “Increasing the capacity” of the brain is e...

The Placebo effect: Fact or fiction?

You've probably heard of the placebo effect before: when something with no known therapeutic value makes us feel better. It is a great trick our mind plays on us. By believing and expecting something to work, it actually does. But what is weird is that the strength of the effect can differ, for ...

Can your thoughts be influenced? Take the test!

Are your thoughts strong enough to resist influence from external factors? By doing this test you will experience how your mind can be influenced! For starters, you will have to stare into this magic eye for 10 seconds, which will steer your thoughts towards a fixed choice. Stare closely for 10 sec...

Is your brain fooling you? Check out this optical illusion!

Sometimes our brain can fool us. In this blog, we will show you an optical illusion and explain what our brain makes of it. The illusion: the spinning dancer. Is the dancer spinning towards the left or the right? And can you make her spin the other way around? Give it a try! Below we will exp...

Train your divided attention with Pengo!

There are various forms of attention. For example, there is selective attention (attention that is used to focus on one specific task or object) and divided attention (attention that is used to focus on multiple tasks or objects). Selective attention is especially used when we focus on one task (for...

Why can't you see all twelve dots at the same time?

If you look at the image below, you might have noticed there are a few black dots in it. But did you also notice that there are twelve in total and that you can't see all of them at the same moment? No matter how you look at this picture, you will never be able to see all of the dots in one view...

Brain training can almost halve the risk of Alzheimer's disease

A 10-year study of 3000 elderly Americans found that online brain training can cut the risk of dementia by 48%. These preliminary findings were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto. Experts have described this scientific breakthrough as 'spectacular...

4 Tips to lower the risk of developing dementia

There is no certain way to prevent all types of dementia. However, a healthy lifestyle can help lower your risk of developing dementia when you are older. It can also prevent cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and heart attacks. To reduce your risk of developing dementia and other serious...

Brain training: it’s hip, but it isn’t new

In the last couple of years, Brain Training has gotten really big. In 2005 (Japan) Nintendo launched Dr Kawashima’s Brain Trainer for their handheld console, the DS. It became a huge success. Since then many different variations where send into the world, all with the same idea behind it. Nowa...

Lower the risk of memory loss with Bubl

By training with our game Bubl, you train your brain to calculate faster. Being good at calculating is convenient in daily life, like when you’re shopping. But there is more you’re training with our brain game Bubl. By doing mental calculations, you’re improving the white matter (m...

What exactly is déjà vu?

We all have some experience of a feeling that comes over us occasionally, of what we are saying and doing or things we have said and done before in a remote time. We think we know perfectly what will be said next as if we suddenly remember it! It is sudden and fleeting, leaving as une...

6 tips to improve your memory

We’ve all experienced the moment when you walk into a room and thought ‘What was I going to do here?’. Our memory sometimes lets us down and we forget certain things (unless you’re an elephant). To improve your memory a bit, here is a list of tips we put together for you. &n...

Can we predict a high IQ?

According to a new study in the journal Current Biology, there is a way to predict whether someone has a high IQ. The study shows that there is a correlation between high IQ and people who are able to filter important information from unimportant information and only process what’s needed. ...

Do I still have your attention?

Our attention span is getting shorter Our attention span is getting shorter. This is the conclusion of researchers from Microsoft Canada. Research fresh in this millennium, now fifteen years ago, showed that we were able to uphold our attention for twelve seconds. In 2013 our ability to retain th...

Seven brain facts - number three will surprise you

We from BrainGymmer present you with a list of amazing brain facts that you have probably never heard of. The brain controls everything we do and can be seen as the control centre for all the body’s functions, including talking, walking, your personality, your emotions, how you see things, how...

Braintraining to prevent Dementia

Research continues to indicate that brain training together with healthy eating and exercise results in slower mental decline. This applies even to the senior population, along with those that are at risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Researchers in Finland carried out a study with 1260 particip...

Brainwaves can reveal early signs of Alzheimer's

Measuring brain activity with EEG There are many ways to measure brain activity, one of which is the electroencephalogram (EEG). It records electrical activity along the scalp. The activity is expressed as brainwaves. In most cases, EEG measures are done by means of the recording device displayed...

The secret of a Mediterranean diet

People suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) combined with diabetes are more prone to brain disorders, like dementia, research indicates. MCI lies between normal aging and dementia. A person is considered to suffer from MCI when he or she has problems with memory or other cognitive function...

The science behind Bait

Train your visual perception with Bait Have you played our challenging brain game Bait yet? Bait stimulates your (visual) perception and encourages you to perceive things more quickly, increase your alertness and improve your orientation. Visual perceptual processing is crucial in learning and&nb...

project Mental Fitness for Elderly

As people get older some brain functions become slower and less accurate. Scientific research shows that mental challenges and activities can help in maintaining optimal performance and to slow down deterioration. Project Mental Fitness for Elderly On November 13th, 2014, BrainGy...

Boost for your brain: surprise!

Do you have a nice surprise planned out this Valentine's? Or maybe you will be pleasantly surprised this year? Lots of people like pleasant surprises, whether it be a surprise party or a letter from your secret admirer. Research brain reaction to surprises Researcher Read Montague,...

The secret of BDNF

You have probably already read about neuroplasticity. Briefly summarized, it means that our brain has the ability to reorganize itself by making new connections between brain cells (neurons). Long periods of stress and depression can negatively influence neuroplasticity. However, all is not lost, th...

Our brain in love

Some say that people love with their heart. However, research has shown that love is all in the brain. Some of the things you’ll read below you might find surprising! Researching our brain in love Throughout her academic career anthropologist, Helen Fisher has studied love to a great...

Your brain on vacation

During these winter months, you may like to dream about the summer holidays and the good times you’re going to enjoy the moment you’ll be off from work. Or maybe you’ll be going skiing soon? Jetting off on vacation is more than simply fun and relaxing; it’s good for your br...

What everybody thought to know about sugar

You’ve already read about healthy brain food which can boost its vitality. However, there are also foods that are bad for you if eaten in large amounts. For example, it is commonly known that sugar is bad for you because it can increase the risk of weight gain and metabolic disturbances. What ...

Twigs and Networks: learning and memory uncovered

You are born with at least 100 billion neurons. Dendrites (fibres) grow from neurons when you listen to, write about, talk about or practice something. Dendrites only grow from a dendrite (fibre) that is already there, from something you already know. Like twigs on a tree, dendrites grow from a twig...

A second language is good for your brain

Learning a second language is super useful, especially if you’re going abroad. Knowing a second language has many advantages, partly because you don’t have to be dependent on others. But what many people don’t know is that it’s more than simply useful and fun, it’s exce...

How do you train self control

The holidays are behind us now and a new year has started. After devouring many Christmas dinners, gingerbread houses, candy canes, and chocolate, we've started our New Year’s resolutions. At least half of us (I know I did!) that is. Maybe you want to start eating healthy again, stop ...

Mistakes our brain makes

Our brain is basically a lazy organ. It always tries to find solutions with as little effort as possible. This often works, but sometimes it can lead to mistakes. At times we consciously pick up on this, but it can happen also that we aren't aware of it. Below you can read about common mistakes ...

5 Brainmyths busted

All the research that is done gives us a better understanding of the brain. Not only do we learn new things, but we also discard statements about the brain that we thought were true. BrainGymmer gives you five myths about the brain we took for granted, but which are now busted. We count down to the ...

4 tips for a young brain

People are getting much older and everyone wants to stay mentally fit. BrainGymmer gives you 4 important tips to keep your brain fit and healthy! You only have one brain, you want to take good care of it, right? Tip 1. Eat healthy Take care of your body, take care of your mind...

Your flexible brain: neuroplasticity

For a long time, we thought that intellect and intelligence was congenital. But is it? We long thought that the brain and how this organ develops was determined at birth. Recently, many neurological researches have shown that the brain can adapt itself throughout the years. Everyone has a similar b...

Improve your memory with our brain game Mentile

Improve your memory with our brain game Mentile It might not look like it is that important but your memory does a lot of work. When you lose your memory you lose nearly all of your other abilities. People with dementia and Alzheimer are a good example. We cannot say that you can cure dement...

Increase your vocabulary with this special brain game Wordbird!

How to play Wordbird? Wordbird is a fun and simple brain game that can improve your vocabulary. There are a lot of words that people still don’t know about. Some words you will see here are just made up but look very real. To get to a score as high as possible, press the right button wh...

6 most important brain exercises

According to dr. Oz, known from Oprah, there are 6 important ways to train your brain. These exercises all improve your mental fitness: Exercise 1 - Look for new, uncomfortable situations This might sound easier than it is. It may even feel be a bit strange at first. Most people ...

Train your memory with our memory games

Try your best and improve your memory! Various researches have shown that you can train and improve your memory with memory games. These games normally focus on the working memory (a.k.a. short term memory). This is a temporary storage place of task-related information. For instance, when calcu...

Counting faster with our brain game Birdz

How to get a higher score with Birdz The concept of the game is quite simple. Count the right birds and fill in how much you have counted. It’s like, 1..2..3...This may work for a while until……Time is up and gone are the birds. How are you supposed to even get a higher sco...

How are your math skills?

Time to put your math skills to the test How are your math skills? Time to put it to the test! In this article you can see a math problem, waiting for you to be solved. Answer: When doing a math equation without parenthesis, the order of operations is: Exponent...

Brain training day

Brain training at nursing homes The past couple of weeks, BrainGymmer went into the field and visited three nursing homes in Lelystad, The Netherlands. On the 10th of April, we went to the nursing home “Woonzorg Flevoland” to give a brain training workshop with BrainGymmer. The...

5 tips to improve your memory

We are all very careful with our memory. So how do you improve it? The reason why we are so careful is that we don't want to forget the things or persons we love. We also want to remember more things at a single time without having to write them down. Another important matter is our general fea...

How to train your brain by doing brain gym exercises

There is a lot of scientific evidence that brain training can really help you with improving cognitive skills. For instance logic, memory and visual perception. But in order for these training programs to work properly, there is one important factor that we need to take into account: ...

10 brain boosting foods to keep your brain healthy

Eat smart food for all ages! Are you sure you're getting enough of the correct nutrients so as to support a healthy cognitive function and improve your memory? Research has shown that what you eat is a very powerful influencer on your everyday brain skills, says Cynthia Green, PhD, founder...

The science behind brain training games

Brain training and neuroplasticity Brain plasticity is the ability that the human brain has to change in physical, functional and chemical ways throughout a lifetime. Sometimes also called neuroplasticity or cortical remapping (remapping of the cortex), brain plasticity is the scientific basis of...