Best Memory Improvement Apps
If you want to improve your memory for everyday life, school, or work, it can be difficult to know where to start. After all, memory is a soft skill, not a traditional “hard skill” like programming. In general, I recommend outsourcing everything you can to your phone. Why not use your smart device to improve your original smart device – your brain?
There are plenty of apps that purport to improve your memory skills, although research on whether they work has been mixed , and findings on effectiveness are fairly limited. One thing we do know is that they won’t magically cure severe cognitive decline . However, if a few puzzles a day will help you feel better and get started, it might be worth downloading just for the sake of it. Apps are just one of many ways to give your brain a little exercise, but below are some of the best.
Old reliable: Lumosity
Lumosity is an app that comes up most often when you are looking for a tech tool to improve your memory and overall thinking ability. Basic features are free, but to unlock all the features (and there are many), you’ll have to pay $15 per month. You can choose a track to focus on, from memory to attention to processing speed, among others, and play games once a day to improve your skills. The app even allows you to track not only your own progress, but also your progress compared to others, in case you prefer a more competitive element.
For custom content: Elevate
Elevate bills itself as “your personal brain trainer” and does this by making the content quite customizable. You take a pre-test to determine your level of reading, writing, speaking and math skills, and then receive an “Advancement Score” that reflects your level of language proficiency. You can play three games a day for free, but there are over 40 games you can access if you pay $4.99 a month. Some games can even be downloaded for offline use, so if you spend a lot of time on planes or subways, you can put your commute to good use for your (brain).
Compete with friends: CogniFit Brain Fitness
CogniFit places great emphasis on the fact that its games are developed by neuroscientists and its product is “trusted by doctors.” Amazing. But you know what else is great? Beat your friends at something. CogniFit allows you to compete with other people (it already has nearly 5 million users) while also getting detailed information about your own cognitive strengths and weaknesses, from contextual memory to hand-eye coordination. You can play four games for free, but on top of that you’ll have to pay $13 a month.
Don’t Spend Money: Brain Games
If you want to improve your cognitive skills without hurting your wallet, consider Brain Games, which are ad-supported and don’t even require you to create an account upon download. It’s only available on Android , but it has enough games and features to keep you doing three tasks a day for a month. The levels become more difficult as you progress and you can even compete with other users.
To remember specific things: Eidetic
The other apps on this list are designed to improve your memory in general, but why not practice it with the things you really need to remember? Enter Eidetic , which uses spaced repetition to help you remember anything from account numbers to long quotes. The app takes care of the “in-between” part of the review for you, sending you push notifications when it’s time to review. It’s also free!