Brain-training games make you better at brain-training games. In the biggest trial, over eleven thousand people trained for six weeks and improved on the tasks they practised and nothing else. A review of more than a hundred studies found the same: little or no transfer to memory, attention or daily life. Evidence: solid
What has shown some transfer: learning a demanding real skill, aerobic exercise, sleep. Time with people is good for other things, but in the best trial it didn't move memory. Evidence: decent All of them are harder than an app. That's not a coincidence.
Same theme: Keeping the brain plastic
Keeping the brain plastic
Ask someone to explain their thing
Once a week, get someone to explain something from their world that you don't understand. Follow it properly. Ask the stupid question.
20 minEvidence: worth trying
Keeping the brain plastic
Assume you can get better at it
When you're bad at something, treat it as "not yet" rather than "not me".
no timeEvidence: worth trying
Keeping the brain plastic
Do it the annoying way, once a week
Pick one thing you do on autopilot and do it the harder, unfamiliar way. New route, other hand, recipe from scratch, no calculator.
10 minEvidence: worth trying