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Home / Technology

Grey matter losing its edge

By Eleanor Steafel
Daily Telegraph UK·
6 Aug, 2015 05:00 PM3 mins to read

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There are plenty of apps available to help tickle the memory cells. Photo / Getty Images
There are plenty of apps available to help tickle the memory cells. Photo / Getty Images

There are plenty of apps available to help tickle the memory cells. Photo / Getty Images

Dip in IQs blamed on modern life - but now apps are claimed to be the answer.

IQs across the world are declining, with our collective intelligence dropping by one IQ point in the past decade.

Experts at the University of Montreal say every aspect of modern life - from technology to our eating habits - is destroying our brains and bringing our IQs down.

But there are countless apps out there which claim to have an antidote.

A new brain-training game insists it can simultaneously improve the memory of schizophrenia patients while saving the taxpayer thousands - a pretty bold aim for what is essentially a game on an iPad.

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We've taken a look at the app - called Wizard - along with others which all claim to exercise your mind or boost your IQ.

1 - Wizard: Wizard was created by neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge and is intended to improve episodic memory - the type of memory required when you have to remember where you parked your car in a multi-storey carpark - in schizophrenia patients.

Researchers at the university say the game could bring about "small improvements in cognitive functions" which could help patients live more independently and therefore substantially improve their wellbeing and health.

2 - Lumosity: Over 70 million people already use Lumosity worldwide.

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Billed as a cognitive science app, it offers users brain-training games to exercise mental muscles. In their own words: "We transform science into delightful games." You create an account and select the mental faculties you want to exercise. Lumosity then creates a customised daily routine where the games are tailored to the skills you want to test.

3 - Fit Brains: Like Lumosity, Fit Brains aims to improve your mental performance with a series of brain games, selected to help your weaker areas. The six key mental functions are: focus, memory, speed, logic, visual and language.

The games get harder as you improve. Meanwhile, the app keeps track of your progress and makes recommendations on how to challenge yourself and alter your training routine.

4 - Eidetic: Eidetic uses a technique called spaced repetition to help you memorise anything from important phone numbers to facts.

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It's billed as the perfect app for students who need help memorising key facts or quotes for exams, but would also work well for someone struggling to remember bank details or phone numbers.

You simply enter the information you want to memorise and the app uses notifications to remind you when it's time to test yourself.

It spaces the tests out over time to help you retain the information for longer.

5 - BrainHQ: BrainHQ claims to improve your hearing in crowded places, help you excel at work and even boost your tennis game.

There are attention exercises, brain speed exercises, intelligence tests and a host of other tools which all aim to keep you sharp.

The team says: "Our exercises don't just drill memory or teach compensatory tricks. Instead, many of them target important roots of memory and thinking - the ability of the brain to absorb information from our eyes, ears, and other senses."

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6 - Elevate: This quick brain-training program aims to increase your memory, your ability to focus, and your reading comprehension.

The series of short exercises take only a couple of minutes each, allowing you to come back to them throughout the day.

You are rewarded for your accuracy and speed and can track your progress to see whether your training is paying off.

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