The best apps for older adults and seniors to stay mentally fit
In addition to keeping us connected with family and friends, smartphones can also be tools for strengthening memory and cognitive skills through a variety of apps that aim to stimulate the brain. While not on the same level as exercise or other naturally brain-boosting activities, some evidence has demonstrated that using these apps can work neural circuits for specific tasks, which is important to keeping the brain active and healthy.
For older adults and seniors who might be looking to keep their brains in shape, here is a list of some of the easiest to use and most impactful apps you can use to exercise your gray matter.
Fit Brains Trainer
This free app has games that work on ten different areas of the brain, including problem solving, memory, attention, communication, and cognitive exercises. This app is great because it tracks your progress and the design makes it really easy to use. One caveat is that, while anyone can benefit from its games, Fit Brains Trainer was initially designed for students, so a few of the skills it emphasizes like math readiness and preschool skills are not age-appropriate. However, recently the developers have realized that the app’s goals are applicable to adults as well, so recent updates have started to shift focus. Download Fit Brains Trainer here.
Eidetic
This free app is dedicated to strengthening memory. The app uses a spaced repetition technique, which is an evidence-based learning technique based on flashcards where new and more difficult flashcards are shown more often, and older and less difficult ones are shown less often. This way, the brain can work more heavily on new concepts while still retaining old concepts. The app has a few categories of flashcards, from helpful things like phone numbers and definitions to fun quotes and facts. Download Eidetic here.
Braingle
Braingle, another free app, works to exercise cognitive skills and reasoning. It’s based on giving the user different brain teasers that stimulate the mind in a variety of ways. One category is cryptography, where you can try to decode a sentence or phrase. Another category is mystery, where you are given a scenario and have to work on an intriguing whodunit. This app is great because it’s slightly different from the other apps above that rely on repetition. With Braingle, every activity is a new challenge for your brain. Download Braingle here, or visit the associated Braingle website here.
Elevate
Elevate was Apple’s App of the Year in 2014. This app has more than 35 games focusing on memory, math, precision, and comprehension. Elevate was created with the help of neuroscientists and cognitive learning experts, so all the games and exercises are backed with professional insight. Elevate also has a great user experience; it gives a detailed progress report and a mind exercise program tailored to the user’s needs. Elevate is free to download, but requires a subscription after seven days, the cost of which is $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year. Download Elevate here.
Luminosity
Luminosity is the most popular “train your brain” app out there. With more than 40 different games, Luminosity has ample ways to exercise memory, attention, speed, flexibility, and problem solving. With the basic version of the app, you can play three random games from Luminosity’s collection everyday. You can also buy a subscription to their premium service, which is $11.99 per month or $59.99 per year. The premium service gives you access to a personalized training program, so that instead of daily random games you get games suited for your strengths and weaknesses. Similar to Elevate, Luminosity was created with input from scientists and researchers, so the games are carefully designed to provide maximum benefit. Download Luminosity here.
CogniFit - Brain Training
CogniFit is another app that is based on neuroscientists’ expertise and targets building memory. Each user is given a personalized training program, with daily exercises and games. As part of the training program, CogniFit tracks progress through assessments and tracking your scores on certain games. There are assessments that are specifically for people 55 and older, to see how your memory and cognitive skills compares to other people of a similar age. They also have assessments for measuring your concentration, coordination, etc. By tracking your scores on games, CogniFit also gives you an overall score in a variety of categories, such as estimation skills, spatial perception, planning, visual scanning, etc. Through that information, you can see how much you’ve improved since you started! CogniFit is free to download, but after a few games requires a subscription of $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year. Download CogniFit here.