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HEALTH
Tom Brady is Doing Brain Games Wrong and You Probably are Too
If you want to improve cognitive function as you age, measure it.
When Tom Brady forgot what down it was in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears, Twitter let him hear about it. One of the recurring themes interwoven through those tweets is that Tom Brady is getting old, and old people are forgetful. Making matters worse for Brady is that he touts a line of brain games that he says help keep him mentally sharp. While anyone at any age can lose momentary focus, this episode should at least help dispel the notion that brain games significantly improve cognitive function.
Of course one of the main reasons that notion exists in the first place is that brain game companies heavily advertise it as the key benefit of their products. Unfortunately for their customers, the science doesn’t seem to back up their claims. At least according to articles published in, among other places, Scientific American, Wired, The Atlantic, Nature, and Science Daily. The Stanford Center on Longevity sums it up best:
To date, there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better…
