Do Brain Training Games and Memory Exercises Prevent Dementia?

Getting older can bring multiple health concerns for many adults. But one health condition in particular sparks a major worry: dementia. It’s normal to have memory issues from time to time, like forgetting where you put your keys or phone. But the idea that you may forget the face or name of your loved ones can be frightening. 

It’s a reality that, unfortunately, many people deal with. For instance, in 2014, the CDC estimated that dementia affected 5 million adults over age 65. They expect this number to rise over the next few decades. 

So, you may wonder if there’s any way to prevent dementia. Recently, “brain games” — like puzzles — have been touted as a possible tool to prevent memory loss. But is this true?

This article will explore whether brain games, including brain training apps on smartphones, can lower your risk of dementia.

What does dementia do to the brain?

Getting older doesn’t mean you’ll experience dementia. It isn’t a normal part of aging. For those who do experience dementia, it can impair your ability to think and process information.

This can lead to symptoms like:

• Forgetting familiar people, places, or words

• Having trouble speaking or writing

• Having trouble completing normal daily activities

• Having trouble with balance or coordination

• Repeating questions or statements

• Hallucinating or feeling paranoid

When a person has dementia, nerve cells (neurons) in the brain don’t function as they should. These neurons stop communicating with other neurons correctly. Eventually, it causes a large number of them to die.

Several health conditions can cause dementia. This includes strokes, Lewy body dementia, and, most commonly, Alzheimer's disease. Other causes are also possible.

What can I do to lower the risk of dementia?

Treating Alzheimer's-related dementia is difficult, with few medications available. So people often look for ways to prevent dementia-related conditions. 

There are recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) that may help lower the risk of developing dementia. It’s important to note that the evidence supporting these recommendations isn’t very strong. But the risks of trying them are low, and they may have benefits for other health conditions.

These recommendations include:

• Eating a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet

• Exercising regularly

• Stopping smoking

• Drinking alcohol in moderation or avoiding alcohol altogether

• Treating and managing other health conditions you may have, such as high blood pressure or diabetes

• Practicing cognitive training

Cognitive training is focused on getting you to “exercise your brain” through different activities. These activities engage your critical thinking skills and may help maintain your cognitive skills over time.

You can do cognitive training in many different ways:

• Creating art (like painting, drawing, coloring)

• Reading books

• Taking classes

• Gardening

• Playing games that require strategic thinking (like chess or bridge)

• Doing jigsaw puzzles

Some low-quality studies also suggest cognitive training may help improve overall cognition for people with mild to moderate dementia. But larger, higher-quality studies would be needed to confirm this.

Do brain games prevent dementia?

Since cognitive training may help people who have dementia, there’s some thought that it may also help prevent dementia. In fact, in 2018, people spent about $1.9 billion on smartphone and mobile device apps to help keep their brains active. Brain training apps seem to be the modern go-to method for cognitive training.

Unfortunately, there’s no significant evidence at this time to suggest that cognitive training can prevent dementia. However, the WHO does recommend cognitive training as the benefits may outweigh any risks.

Some studies suggest that for people with normal cognition, cognitive training may help improve or maintain thinking ability. But more research is needed to say whether it helps delay or prevent dementia. This is still a relatively new area of research.

Can brain games and training apps reverse dementia?

No, brain games and training apps haven’t been shown to reverse dementia. At this time, there’s an ongoing debate on whether brain training games can help prevent dementia. But no evidence exists that these games can reverse dementia once you have it. However, there may still be benefits, such as helping to improve your overall thinking and mood.

What types of games are good for dementia?

There’s been a lot of work evaluating which games may be good for dementia, such as chess, certain board games, and bingo. Currently, there hasn't been evidence to say whether or not certain activities help. However, what’s widely understood is that doing something may be better than doing nothing.

In terms of memory games for dementia on smartphones, none are FDA-approved or FDA-cleared for this purpose. These brain training apps have no clear clinical evidence for helping with or preventing dementia. Some companies actually got in trouble for making these claims in the past.

Looking forward, there’s a lot of interesting research being done on digital health technologies to help with or prevent dementia. This includes new mobile device apps, video games, and virtual reality tools. It’s possible that in the future, we may have better research and evidence about these digital health tools than we do now. Additional new and innovative brain health technologies may pop up in the future, too. 

How does stimulating your brain help improve cognitive function?

Like exercising your body, exercising your brain may help keep it strong and able to think critically. One possible explanation for this is called cognitive reserve. Some researchers suggest that if you exercise your brain, you build up a larger reserve of brain function. So if you begin to experience a loss of cognitive function, it might take longer to have a more severe effect when you have a larger reserve. 

However, this is just a theory. It hasn’t been proven by clinical studies.

How often do you need to exercise the brain in order to notice the benefits?

There’s no specific amount or frequency of cognitive training that you need to do. Remember, all that we know is that doing some amount of brain training is likely better than doing nothing at all.

Some people call this the “use it or lose it” theory. In other words, the more you use your brain, the better. In terms of research, some data has shown that doing cognitive activities twice a week may be helpful, but we don't know if doing more is better. 

Finding something that you like to do and find joy in is important. Building a habit that helps you keep your brain active will be helpful. This can range from doing traditional brain games with a pen and paper to playing brain training apps on your smartphone or tablet.

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Written by:

Timothy Aungst, PharmD

Timothy Aungst, PharmD, has worked in pharmacy practice for the past decade with different roles and responsibilities. He has served as an associate professor of pharmacy practice for almost a decade, a clinical pharmacist in outpatient cardiology management, and now in home healthcare.

Edited by:

Christina Aungst, PharmD

Christina Aungst, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She began writing for GoodRx Health in 2019, transitioning from freelance writer to editor in 2021.

Reviewed by:

Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS

Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS, is a licensed pharmacist in Arizona, Colorado, and Rhode Island. He has worked in the pharmacy industry for more than 10 years and currently serves as a pharmacy editor for GoodRx.

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