In a world with social media platforms like Facebook,
Instagram and SnapChat, we often forget to learn.
After leaving school we seem to forget to prioritise learning, caught up in the world of work and entertainment.
Constant updates of top news like 'Kim K loses the implants!' makes our attention spans short lived and our memory faulty. This is down to the news we choose (or don't choose) to follow.
We choose memes over fulfilling dreams and follow someone already living the life we wish we had.
If you look on social media platforms, vanity is a trend like no other, having fooled everyone to the mindset of beauty over brains. Physical exercise is having an all time high which is great! It keeps us healthy and in shape, but what about the most important muscle? The one we spent 18 years developing.
Research has shown that regular training can significantly enhance intelligence, crucial for the ability to detect patterns, reason and learn.
Expand your mind and become smarter. Simple brain games can make a huge difference to your thinking, memory and problem solving.
Here's 3 brain games you can use on your smart phone:
Math vs. Brain:
With a variety of math-related questions designed to stimulate your brain and a system that rewards you for accurate answers with stars that can be used to unlock solutions for more difficult questions down the road, this free app is a fun way to bring back those mathematical methods that may be getting dusty from years of neglect.
Elevate
Android / iOS:
Elevate is a strong rival to Peak: it has similarly clear visuals and simple, accessible mini-games to test your wits against. There's more than 30 here testing memory, focus, maths, comprehension and other mental skills. Like many other brain training apps, Elevate takes a freemium route, providing free users with a variety of daily exercises.
The app is keen to get you logging in regularly, tracking your “streaks” on its calendar, and tweaking the difficulty levels as you become more adept. Here too, a Pro subscription (for £5.99 a month) unlocks more games, and lets you play them as often as you like.
Mensa Brain Training:
Mensa Brain Training is a fun way to challenge your mental agility. The test are varied and challenge different aspects of the brain. The exercises help focus your mind on the tasks and the Mensa test is a good measure of how you are improving and which areas you could do better.
But are humans losing intelligence?
A new study suggests human intelligence is on the decline. In fact, it indicates that Westerners have lost 14 I.Q. points on average since the Victorian Era.
The researchers say that a meta-analysis of simple reaction times recorded between 1884 and 2004 shows a substantial decline in general intelligence: "1.23 IQ points per decade or fourteen IQ points since Victorian times."
Although these are some worrying findings, we have the power to change it. We can all help, by taking the time to sit down, relax and expand your knowledge with fun stimuli.
The mind is the most powerful tool we have, lets not waste it. Follow a passion and master a skill. You could help shape the world we live in today, for a better future!