Brain exercise boosts IQ by 40 per cent - BBC

- Mon, 10 Sep 2007

A new BBC health programme claims that simple brain games can boost overall intelligence by as much as 40 per cent.

The show set out to explore whether making simple life changes can affect our brain's performance. In trials before the show, volunteers were subjected to a seven-day program of  healthy eating, physical activity and mental games. These brain games included things like playing Sudoku, Scrabble and charades, using the computer mouse with the wrong hand for an hour at a time and walking around the home with eyes closed. Producers anticipated the regimen may boost intelligence by 10 per cent. They were staggered when some participants performance rose as much as 40 per cent. They sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.

While the BBC test was by no means a scientific study, it doeshighlight how much control we have over our brains, something that isborne out in increasing, legitimate medical studies. Philip Morrow, producer of the show called Get Smarter In A Week, told London's Guardian newspaper, "An increasing body of scientific opinion holds that you can take steps in your life to actually improve your brainpower. Scientists say you will see noticeable improvements in a week." 

"A lot of people feel they are underperforming in their life, that they are letting themselves down in terms of their ability to handle events, or thinking that people at work are cleverer than them. This program shows that everyone can get smarter, feel better."

Scientifically developed software brain-training programs like Headstrong directly target the pathways in the brain that control memory, concentration and our reflexes. As the increasing weight of scientific evidence suggests, using such brain games keeps you mentally in peak condition and at the same time helps protect you from age-related memory loss like dementia and Alzheimer's disease.