If you find yourself wondering about the most effective training methods or if you’re puzzled by the terminology used in BrainHQ, we’re here to help. Below, you’ll find valuable tips and expert guidance to address your inquiries and make the most of your BrainHQ experience.
Recommendation
Try to fit in at least 90 minutes of effective brain training a week. Many people tell us that 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time works best for them.
Why?
Brain exercise is like physical exercise: making real and lasting changes takes effort.
Recommendation
There are two ways to train in BrainHQ: personalized training and choosing exercises yourself.
Why?
We’ve found that some people are looking for a general brain workout, while others are seeking to improve their performance for a specific reason.
Recommendation
You must beat your baseline for each level to unlock the next level. That means you have to repeat each level at least once. However, many people ask whether they should repeat levels more than once to increase their performance (shown in their number of stars). That’s a great idea. We recommend you challenge yourself to achieve the highest number of stars you can! That said, there is also a benefit to training in many different levels.
Why?
The benefit to training many times in the same level is that the brain changes best when it is challenged. Getting to a point where a task is hard for you—where your brain is challenged—is an important aspect of positive brain plasticity. The benefit to training in multiple levels is that every exercise level is a little bit different than the other levels. Each one works out a slightly different set of neurons. In order to exercise as many neurons as you possibly can, you must train in many similar (but not the same) ways.
Recommendation
It’s a good idea to complete as many BrainHQ exercises as you can. However, if you really don’t like one, skip it!
Why?
If you continue to use an exercise you dislike, you may want to quit your brain training. Continuing to exercise your brain is far more important than completing an individual exercise!
Recommendation
If you find yourself getting bored with an exercise, take a break from that exercise for a while and come back to it at a future date.
Why?
It is important that you are motivated and alert when doing the exercises to maximize the training effect. Being alert and interested causes the brain to release more neuromodulators (brain chemicals important to learning and remembering). Being bored makes this neuromodulatory release more sluggish, so you don’t learn and remember as well.
Recommendation
We realize that there might be times where it will be difficult to maintain your training. For example, you might need to take a break to go on vacation or maybe your life has become extra busy for a while. The good news is that even after taking a break from training the benefits of training remain for a long time. However, we recommend that a break should not last longer than 3 months. One of the great things about BrainHQ is that when you return to training the exercises quickly adapt to your current performance level.
Why?
Although some benefits from brain training exercises can last for a long time (several years according to some studies), there is a decline associated with long periods of non-training. So if you stop training for more than three months, you are likely to move a little backward.
The free exercises have limited content. They are designed to give you a taste of BrainHQ, rather than a thorough brain workout.
However, you will get a more robust and thorough online brain training experience with a subscription to all exercises.