LUMOSITY
Sleep Yourself Smarter
Here's something so simple that you can do it while you sleep: did you know that sleep may be
crucial for forming long-term memory?
In a study published in the June 2011 issue of Science, University of Washington researchers
worked with a special breed of fruit flies that could be induced to sleep on demand. Following a
period of training, flies who then underwent 4 hours of induced sleep formed long-term
memories of that training. Note that training alone was not enough to trigger memory
consolidation—sleep was a necessary component. Flies who trained but did not sleep did not
form long-term memories.
The University of Washington study makes fascinating observations about sleep's power to
cause memory formation. But if you're wondering how much we can learn from fruits flies, then
rest assured that many human studies also show that sleep improves memory and performance.
Proper sleep is easy to incorporate into your lifestyle: consider getting a good night's rest after
you've studied for a test, experienced a particularly cherished event, or learned a new name in
Familiar Faces. Sleep may help these novel experiences stick with you.
Not only may sleep help your memory, but lack of sleep may also hurt your health. A 2010
study from Biological Psychiatry found that chronic insomnia may lead to loss of brain volume.
Researchers used fMRI scans to examine the brains of 37 human subjects with and without
chronic insomnia. Insomniacs had a smaller volumes of gray matter in three brain areas—and
the more serious the insomnia, the greater the loss of volume. And a preliminary 2012 study
from the Washington University School of Medicine found that poor sleep may be linked to
brain plaques found in people with Alzheimer's.
Various studies make a good case for getting a good night's sleep whenever you can. But
remember that while sleep may be beneficial, it's only part of the puzzle. Apart from nighttime
memory consolidation, you can also work on improving your memory abilities by playing games
such as Rotation Matrix. Or use both a good night's rest and a dose of Spatial Speed Match to
stay alert during the day!
Predicting What Happens to Your Aging Brain
As we get older, our brains' abilities change. Though scientists can predict many of these agerelated trends, Lumosity scientists also wanted to know how practice and hard work could
change individual performance despite predicted age generalizations.
The question: can an older person do as well as a younger one?
We examined game score data from 132,147 members of all ages who played four different
Lumosity games. Dr. Kacey Ballard presented these findings at the 2012 Cognitive Neuroscience
Society conference, and now we’d like to share what we learned about typical baseline ability
and the amazing effects of regular training.
What are different age groups naturally better at?
16-year-olds performed best at Memory Match and Memory Matrix. For every year older than
16, the average user declined by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively: the oldest players had average
scores about 20% lower than peak players. Decline happens quickly because such games rely on
fluid intelligence, which contributes to learning, problem solving, and the ability to adapt to
novel challenges.
But Word Bubbles, our game of verbal fluency and vocabulary, showed a very different trend.
Word Bubbles performance peaked in the late 20s and stayed high through the 40s, falling
gradually from then on. Why? Word Bubbles relies more on crystallized intelligence, a type of
intelligence that draws on accumulated knowledge and skills from your life experience—and
which declines much more slowly.
Our findings support general aging research showing that fluid and crystallized intelligence
decline at different rates.
And what can you get better at?
In a word: everything. We found that users of all ages improved at all games. Sound impressive?
Then consider this:
After 25 games of Memory Match, older users were just about as good as younger users at
baseline performance. In Memory Match, for example, the difference between a 74 year old who
trained and a 16 year old who didn’t was reduced to only 7%.
Why it matters
The results that we presented at the 2012 Cognitive Neuroscience Society conference confirmed
widely accepted beliefs about aging, but they also showed that age differences can be largely
eliminated through training. Anyone of any age can improve—achieving brain performance
comparable to that of a younger person! No matter where you are in life, today is great day to
unlock full access and start making your brain feel sharper, faster, and maybe even younger.
How Meditation Can Affect Alpha Rhythms in the Brain
Meditation might act as a "volume knob" for selective attention, leading to better control over
pain and negative emotions. A recently published Brown University study on mindfulness based
stress reduction (MBSR) has shown that attentional training holds promise for improving
everyday functions.
What is MBSR?
Originally developed by a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School,
mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) has grown to become part of many healthcare plans
in the last 20 years.
It consists of an 8-week program that trains patients to focus a "spotlight of attention" on
different parts of their body, and eventually to develop the same awareness of their mental
states.
How MBSR affects alpha rhythms
There is strong evidence that the MBSR techniques of increasing attentional control have
measurable effects on alpha wave behavior in patients' brains. Alpha rhythms are a key part of
the sensory system: they're related to how the brain processes and filters irrelevant sensory
inputs.
Filtering inputs is a crucial part of higher order cognitive process such as selective attention
and working memory. Both of these processes are based on a person’s attention to focus on
relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information. Without proper filtering, your ability
to carry out even the most basic cognitive operations can be crippled.
Imagine the simple task of backing your car out of the driveway. In order to reach the street
safely, you must hold your destination in mind while steering the car and ignoring distractions
from every modality: the news on the radio, children playing at the end of the block, an itch on
your foot, the glare of the sun in your eyes. Most of us do this filtering subconsciously—but if
you let such irrelevant stimuli distract you, even such a daily task can become a difficult ordeal.
That's why MBSR's value extends even beyond its ability to improve attention during regular
tasks: one of its primary clinical uses is in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic pain,
who struggle with ignoring irrelevant pain stimuli on a daily basis. In fact, MBSR has been
shown to have positive emotional benefits in those suffering from chronic pain and depression.
Brain scan evidence of MBSR
In this 2013 Brown University study, researchers divided participants into two different groups:
a test group that underwent MBSR training for 8 weeks, and a control group that did not. After
8 weeks, both groups were analyzed using a brain imaging technique known as
magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Participants in the brain scan were told to direct attention to or away from their left index
fingers. The MBSR group's neuronal response was significantly faster than the control groups,
as measured by concentration of alpha power.
How you can apply MBSR techniques to improve your life
While not everyone can commit to the full 8 weeks of the MBSR program, its message about the
importance of training attention can be applied in other ways. Many of Lumosity's Attention
games, for example, are designed to improve similar functions in just minutes a day. Several
games, such as Lost in Migration and Color Match, not only train your focus but can also
strengthen your ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli. Unlock full access to 40+ games today and
start strengthening your attention!
Chocolate, Flavonoids, and Long Term Memory
A flavonoid found in cocoa beans could mean the difference between remembering and
forgetting, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Scientists
from the Hotchkiss Brain Insitute in Calgary linked the flavonoid (-)-epicatechin (or epi for
short) to the formation of long-term memory.
Epi: an edible, natural chemical
Found in cocoa beans, green tea, blueberries, and red wine, epi is a plant-based phytochemical
associated with memory and neural performance. Research from a variety of labs has found that
epi may play a role in the regeneration of neurons, help protect against certain types of
neuronal death, and, according to this 2012 study, significantly improve long-term memory.
Measuring memory in snails
Hotchkiss researchers first observed how many times the snails opened their breathing holes in
a standard environment—this formed the baseline. They then spent 30 minutes training the
snails in a simple task: whenever a snail opened its breathing hole, a researcher gently poked
that hole with a stick.
There was one secret ingredient to success, however: half of the snails were submerged in
regular pondwater during the training period, and half the snails were submerged in water
mixed with epi flavonoids. Because snails breathe directly through their skin, the group of epiexposed snails quickly absorbed the flavonoid directly into their central nervous systems. This
gave scientists a simple, reliable way to measure the chemical’s affects.
Flavonoids boost memory days later
And the flavonoid had pronounced effects. Though the pondwater and the epi groups behaved
similarly 24 hours after training, they displayed crucial differences in memory after 72 hours.
72 hours after flavonoid exposure, the epi-exposed snails still opened their breathing holes at
significantly less than their baseline rate—indicating that they remembered events that had
happened 3 day prior, and that they learned to avoid pokes based on those memories. The
control group demonstrated no such memory after 72 hours.
Because both groups of snails underwent the same half-hour training, scientists postulated that
the epi played a key role in forming and enhancing that long-term memory.
Epi and your long-term memory
Though still preliminary, this Hotchkiss Brain Institute paper shows promise for the future study
of epi flavonoids. It moves us another step forward in identifying lifestyle habits that can
positively affect cognition.
Chocolate and other epi-rich foods may give your memory a boost, but remember to
supplement a brain-healthy diet with other healthy habits! Train regularly with Lumosity games
such as Familiar Faces, which is also designed to help you improve your long term memory.
Unlock all memory games today and ensure that what you learn lasts a lifetime.
How Bilingualism Can Affect Your Brain
Speaking multiple languages may be an advantage in more ways than one: a new study
suggests that bilinguals are speedier task-switchers than monolinguals.
Task-switching and its real-world applications
Task-switching—the ability to mentally “switch gears” and refocus on new goals—is a valuable
skill that has numerous practical uses. You use it to shift attention from the wheel to the road
while driving, or to switch gears between offense and defense in a team sport. Bilingualism has
already been associated with a number of cognitive advantages, and now a 2010 study from
Language and Cognition has investigated how bilingualism might enhance crucial taskswitching skills in young adults.
This Carnegie Mellon University study recruited 88 college students, half of whom were
monolingual and half of whom were bilingual. Both groups had about equal SAT scores,
suggesting no inherent difference in cognitive ability.
Each participant sat in front of a screen with two different kinds of tasks assigned to each of
their two hands. As cues appeared onscreen, one hand was responsible for identifying
the color of the cue. The other hand was responsible for identifying the shape of the cue.
There were two aspects to this task-switching experiment: single-task trials and mixed-task
trials. In single-task trials, participants identified either color or shape but never switched
between the two tasks. In mixed-trial tasks, participants frequently switched between color and
shape identification tasks—a more difficult procedure.
Researchers compared single-task and mixed-task reaction times to determine how reaction
time and accuracy differed between groups and trial types.
Bilinguals were much faster than monolinguals on trials that required task-switching—their
reactions were 6 milliseconds quicker on average. Both groups, however, were equally quick to
respond on single-task trials, which did not involve switching.
Task-switching and executive control
This 2010 study contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that bilinguals enjoy
enhanced executive control compared to monolinguals. Executive control refers to a
combination of cognitive abilities—including task-switching—that help you make decisions,
control impulses, and plan thoughtfully. It’s long been thought that constant management and
monitoring of two languages improves executive control—a belief that this Carnegie Mellon
study supports.
How you can improve your own task-switching
Regardless of how many languages you speak, there are plenty of other ways to enhance your
own task-switching abilities and meet the varied demands of everyday life. Lumosity’s Brain
Shift and Brain Shift Overdrive games train task-switching with an exercise similar to the one in
the 2010 study. Or try Color Match to exercise impulse control. Unlock full access todayi to
hone your skills!