COLOGNE, Germany, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Brain training -- crossword puzzles, for example -- is recommended for those who enjoy it, researchers in Germany say.
The researchers at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, say brain training can lead to improvement in the specific ability it is aimed at but there is no scientific proof brain training improves overall mental fitness.
The study, published at informedhealthonline.org, concludes there is no need for people to push themselves to do brain training if it is not enjoyed.
"Doing exercises like trying to find symbols on a computer screen as fast as possible can actually improve your reaction time, but scientific studies have shown that brain training only leads to an improvement in the specific ability that it is aimed at. So if you learn to find symbols quickly, it does not mean that you will be able to remember names better too," Peter Sawicki says in a statement. "So there is no need to feel bad if you do not enjoy brain training: there are no health reasons for doing it, but if you think brain training exercises are fun, you can try out different things. For example, completing sequences of letters can improve your logic skills. And practicing word association techniques can help you to remember things better."
