Amp Up Attendance For Your Brain Health Classes | Do Chat GPT and I agree?

BY CYNTHIA R. GREEN, PH.D.

You know your active elders are keen to learn how they can keep their thinking sharp and brains healthy. Yet sometimes those brain health classes may not feel so popular, or you may worry that attendance may be waning. What can you do to amp up attendance and make sure your brain health programs thrive?

As an expert in the field, I certainly have lots of advice on this topic. But, I was curious – what would Chat GPT say you should do?

So, I asked CHAT GPT for some tips to boost attendance for a brain health program – and was pleasantly surprised to see that when it comes to the ways you can entice and engage folks in meaningful cognitive training, we share the same point-of-view.

Ready for the top 4 ways CHAT GPT and I say you can get your customers to turn out for brain health?

1. Know your customer. Find out what your residents or members really want to get out of a brain health program. Do they want to preserve quick and nimble thinking? Remember things better? Or are they primarily interested in how they can stave off cognitive decline? Then, make sure the program you offer is what they are interested in learning. A good content partner should offer you a selection of topics to choose from so you can best meet what your folks want to learn about. (Our TBH programs do).

CHAT GPT adds that you should then develop marketing materials that reflects their interest. Try flyers, posters, articles, and portal or social media posts. Just make sure that your marketing materials are responsive and show that you’ve listened to what they want and are making that happen. (These are including with our program packages).

2. Make the invitation personal. Who wants to feel like a number or cog in the wheel? Certainly not an AI program! CHAT GPT highlights the importance of personalizing invitations to your program. I couldn’t agree more. Take the time to personally invite folks to join your class. Be sure to point out the benefits of the program and how it can help them reach their own wellness goals. Next, invite them to talk up the program in their social circles and to bring friends to class. CHAT GPT suggests a referral incentive program, where folks are rewarded for bringing someone new to the classes (that could be fun!). And don’t forget the power of their own words – Invite folks to share stories about the program and why they love it at other classes or community events. Even a machine knows the power of the personal testimonial.

3. Make sure it’s worth their while. CHAT GPT’s 3^rd tip? Make sure the class content is engaging and interactive. Again, I could not agree more – in fact, that is the only way we

do things here at Total Brain Health! After all, if something isn’t engaging, meaningful, and fun, why would any of us want to attend? In addition to making sure the program is enjoyable, CHAT GPT suggests you focus on material that is practical and applicable to everyday life, with takeaways students can use to continue learning on their own. Happily, that advice is an easy fit for TBH, since all our training is designed to give folks practical, sustainable ways they can sharpen their thinking, rev up their recall, and reduce cognitive loss. And each of our classes comes with handouts and more so folks can continue learning on their own.

4. Make sure they feel welcomed. Folks will attend classes where they feel respected, included, and valued. Part of that equation is to ensure that students always find a welcoming class environment that adapts to their interests and needs, and that is empowering and connecting. As CHAT GPT concludes, “remember it is crucial to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment where older adults feel comfortable and supported. Building trust and rapport with potential attendees can further boost attendance as they recognize the value of the brain health class and the positive impact it can have on their lives.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I know that these strategies are surefire, proven ways you can make sure your brain health classes are among the most popular listings on your community calendar. Isn’t it nice to see that CHAT GPT agrees?

President and founder of Total Brain Health, Cynthia R. Green, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author and nationally recognized expert on memory fitness and brain health.

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Do We Have a Moral Obligation to Provide Brain Wellness Training?

 Following an extensive review of the data, the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care challenged the medical community and society with the following conclusion:

“…(G)iving people information about how to prevent or treat dementia is an essential first step but is not enough. There is a responsibility, not just as professionals but as a society, to implement this evidence into interventions that are widely and effectively used… Interventions have to be accessible, sustainable, and, if possible, enjoyable or they will be unused.”

As a longstanding expert in brain health, I believe we have a moral obligation to empower everyone to take charge of their cognitive wellness. In the history of healthcare there are turning points when we shift from suggestion to prescription – think, for example, about vaccinations or heart health promotion. A myriad of factors indicate that we have reached such a point, and that it is time to take a more proactive approach to brain health. The Lancet Commission statement is a very welcome invitation to move brain health to the forefront of our health promotion initiatives, for many reasons, among them:

The Science is There. Over the past three decades, we have experienced rapid-fire growth in our scientific knowledge about dementia prevention. We have evidence from large, well-designed observational and interventional studies that lifestyle behaviors can significantly impact our dementia risk. As the Lancet Commission found, these behaviors range from ones that must be implemented on both a societal level, such as childhood education and social isolation in older age, to personal behavior, such as physical activity and managing hearing loss. The time is ripe for interventions that engage us in brain healthy lifestyles and promote the full range of what keeps our minds sharp and reduces our risk for serious memory loss.

In addition, we are beginning to see more evidence that specific lifestyle interventions, such as physical exercise and meditation, may slow decline in those diagnosed with memory disorders. Leaders in the field, such as Dr. Ronald Petersen, have in fact recently suggested physical activity be prescribed to those with early memory loss.

Recent small studies even suggest that targeted training may even improve cognitive performance in individuals with early memory loss. While the evidence may be early, the potential benefits for most of these interventions, which are often wellness-based and economical, seem to outweigh any inherent risk.

Dementia is a Crisis We Can’t Ignore. Dementia is a worldwide societal crisis. On a global basis, over 45 million people carry a diagnosis of dementia, and the World Health Organization has declared dementia a public health priority. However, the impact is not only medical: The 2015 World Alzheimer’s Report concluded that the worldwide economic drag of the disease is so high that if dementia care were a country, it would be the 18th largest economy in the world. With so many at risk, we can no longer afford to be passive or hesitant in our approach to reducing risk or providing better care to those affected by memory loss.

In addition, dementia is a personal crisis for far too many. It is a devastating disease, not only for the affected individual but for their family, friends and community. Giving relief in any degree that may slow decline, support a better quality of life and help all affected is a morally compelling reason to re-envision and retool what we do in brain wellness across the cognitive continuum.

We Have the Tools to do Better. It is time for the healthcare field to rethink what we do to promote better brain health. As the Lancet Commission researchers note, “giving people information simply is no longer enough.” We must move beyond white papers to meaningful, robust programs that empower people to take better care of their brains. We have the tools to develop innovative, out-of-the-box methods that provide the means to lower risk, improve performance, and live better in the face of disease. Methodologies such as gamification, social-based brain training and experiential learning all offer new and exciting ways to fully engage in all the science shows we need to do to promote cognitive fitness. In memory care, we should continue to explore new pathways towards equal opportunity for cognitive engagement and meaningful, vibrant connections across the cognitive continuum, breaking down the barriers modeled on medical constructs, and taking advantage of technological advances to manage concerns around safety and care. Finally, whatever else, we need to make brain health fun – not childish, not over-simplified, but engaging, challenging, compelling and exciting. 

We are at the point in the history of brain health where we have the evidence and need, both professionally and as a society, to empower everyone to take better care of our brains. The moral burden is on us to act – the only question is how we will rise to the challenge.

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3 Unexpected Benefits of your Brain Health Investment: What to Know

For many in the active aging space, August is a time of budgets and decision making. While dollars are tight, the pandemic’s impact has proven that the real value of wellness engagement to resident health, connection, and satisfaction is, in fact, priceless.

As you consider how to stretch your allocation for maximum impact, you should know that there are multiple, unexpected ways investing in brain health is a wise move for your wellness impact – and your bottom line.

There really are countless ways making cognitive fitness a priority for your wellness spend brings surprising benefits, but let’s start with my top 3:

1. Brain training benefits your wellness engagement.

Your goal is to deliver wellness options residents will use and love. Look no further than brain fitness, which is a high wellness priority for everyone living in your community. A 2017 survey found that a whopping 72% of the 3,000+ adults say losing their memory is their top worry about aging. Residents not only have identified that they want your help keeping their cognition vital – they vote with their attendance when you include cognitive fitness training on the calendar.

Including cognitive wellness also helps you promote your overall health platform. Current science confirms the strong tie between body, mind, and spirit interventions and sharp thinking, dementia prevention, and living well with memory loss. Going beyond busy packets to well-designed brain health training can raise everyone’s awareness and participation in your fitness, creative, and community offerings.

2. Brain training benefits resident’s autonomy and purpose.

Daily thinking and memory are not the only targets of cognitive wellness – so are the skills needed for independence and vitality. After the pandemic, residents have a renewed commitment to taking care of
their brain health. Providing training options that help them meet those goals benefits their confidence, sense of achievement, and autonomy to direct their own wellness decisions. Opportunities for residents to drive their brain health engagement make it much more likely they will find their time in your program meaningful, fulfilling, and purposeful. Adding options such as peer training and program leadership can boost resident autonomy and purpose even more.

3. Brain training benefits your business plan.

Investing in brain training that truly engages your residents pays off for your bottom line as well. High value, meaningful brain training is a differentiator that can set your community apart for prospective community members and their families. While brain teasers may entertain, they do not reflect the serious commitment to cutting edge brain wellness the current marketplace demands. In addition, quality cognitive training contributes to having happy, satisfied residents who feel more deeply connected to each other and to a community that goes beyond the mundane to provide cutting-edge resources that help them thrive. That is, after all, why they moved to your community in the first place — and is most likely what will get them to stay.

Research shows that lifestyle wellness is a main reason folks are drawn to communal living. Further, we know that active wellness participants enjoy a higher quality of life, are more satisfied with living in your community, and stay healthier and independent for about 2 years longer, reducing their cost of care. As a highly sought-after aspect of wellness that brings a bounty of benefits, brain fitness is just a smart investment.

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THE “GREAT SUMMER BRAIN BUILD”

3 EASY STEPS FOR KEEPING YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGED AND CHALLENGED THIS SUMMER

Summer is near, along with its eternal promise of fun days in the sun and some well-deserved down time. Isn’t it funny that, no matter how old we get, we shift into “summer mode” when the weather warms? You’d almost think we were getting out of school!

Chances are your community calendar slows down for the summer as well. Perhaps you have learned to schedule less as residents or members take advantage of the warmer weather to travel, or you are adjusting to accommodate staff vacations. Or maybe you have just gotten used to lightening the load as June approaches.

You know what doesn’t slow down for the summer? Our brains! We continue to need stimulation, challenge, and connection to keep our thinking sharp, stay social, and help our minds thrive – no matter the date on the calendar. And while no one wants summer assignments (always dreaded in my household!), simply downgrading the chances everyone has to engage can lead to brain drain.

Here’s an idea – host a “Great Summer Brain Build” instead!

This year, why not flip the script and challenge everyone to spend the summer having fun while building better cognitive fitness? A “Great Summer Brain Build” is the perfect way to keep everyone brain healthy while still taking a bit of a scheduling break. You can give folks the tools they need to stay sharp and vital, no matter where they go over the summer months. And you can support their ability to achieve their own personal brain training goals while building affiliation and happiness with all you have to offer – the very essence of person-centric wellness (and key to retention).

Ready to get started? Here are 3 simple steps to offering a “Great Summer Brain Build” in your community.

1.Think outside the boxes on your calendar. Find new, creative ways everyone can use that can be done independently, are portable and require less time. No need to overload the summer schedule! Try express “pop up” workouts that build specific thinking skills, like attention or speedy thinking. Or offer single session virtual classes to master memory for a specific concern, such as names. Ask folks to pick a brain-related wellness pursuit and commit to doing it for their “build” goals. You can even add a community-wide challenge with daily workouts folks do on their own for “points” they earn over the summer.

2. Keep everyone connected. Drive motivation and affiliation by keeping everyone connected to each other and your “home base,” no matter where the summer takes them. Instead of content-driven classes, host drop-in sessions that allow anyone participating in your “Great Summer Brain Build” the chance to check in for support and comradery when they are around. Keep everyone connected through social media with a dedicated group folks can join to share their brain-boosting adventures, ideas, articles and more. Encourage folks to find a “partner in crime” for the brain build – not only are they more likely to meet their training goals in the company of another, they are also more likely to be happier while doing it!

3. Schedule a time to celebrate success. One thing you should definitely put on the calendar? A time to bring everyone together to celebrate the success of your “Great Summer Brain Build.” Let everyone know well in advance when the program will end so they can plan to complete their target goals accordingly. A celebration gives closure to your program and allows folks to applaud their and each other’s achievements. And it’s perfect not only as a wrap-up event, but also a great time to kick off your fall brain training offerings!

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Total Brain Health Hosts 200+ for “It’s Time to Brain Play!” – A Brain Awareness Week Event

This past Tuesday, over 200 communities registered from across the US and Canada joined Dr. Green and some special guests for our 2nd annual Brain Awareness Week livestream event. The interactive webinar, streamed over Zoom and through TBH partner Touchtown’s new Touchtown Live! service, covered the many ways play is such a boost for our brain.

“We are thrilled that so many communities joined us this year to learn more about that wonderful organ, our brain. We are proud to be a longstanding partner of the Dana Foundation’s Brain Awareness Week initiative, and play our part in helping everyone learn more about what they can do to boost their brain fitness each and every day,” says Dr. Green.

Dr. Green was joined by Acts Retirement-Life Communities residents Sarah Kohler, Ruth Withee, and Ken Justice, who helped demonstrate several of the different ways we can all engage in play to strengthen our thinking skills, creative engagement, and social connection. In thanks for their participation, the panelists will receive complimentary access to TBH’s latest self-paced memory improvement training series, the TBH Build My Memory! Program.

To view a recording of the event, click here. To receive a copy of the event to share with your community, email info@totalbrainhealth.com.

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What’s The #1 Secret To Building Better Community Brain Wellness? Friendships

To paraphrase a popular classic tune, friendship  and brain health are the perfect “blendship.” In  celebration of American Heart Month, let’s take a look at some of the heartwarming ways friends help our brains thrive. 

Friends are our partners in crime. 

Being active and engaged across body, mind, and spirit is essential to maintaining sharp thinking,  reducing dementia risk, and staying vital. Finding what we love to do, whether familiar or new, also supports personal growth, emotional wellbeing, and purpose. Having a friend – or two or three! – who share our goals makes it much more likely we will do the things that keep our brains healthy, whether it’s getting out for a walk, trying a new class, or taking a  trip on our bucket list. Having a “partner in crime” can make it much easier to achieve our brain fitness goals and  stay motivated along the way.  

As professionals, we can encourage folks to find some brain boosting buddies by helping clients connect along  common interests. Try a speed “meet and greet” or activities that might draw folks with specific interests with am ple opportunity to get to know each other, such as a walking trip or volunteering in a soup kitchen. 

Friends keep us on our thinking toes.  

Want a great way to give your thinking skills a good workout? Try talking to a friend. Research shows our intellectual  abilities such as attention and memory can be maintained and even improved with practice, no matter how old we  are. We don’t need a computer game to do that! A good conversation with a buddy can capture our attention, get  us thinking fast, and force us to be flexible in our thinking to keep up with each other. We must remember what they  said and hold onto what we want to say – and wait our turn to boot. In addition, friendships shore up our social skills,  so that when we meet new friends or even acquaintances, we can feel more comfortable in our ability to connect. 

Support the cognitive challenges friendships bring by offering social-based brain training, with workouts that  combine the power of informal socializing and formal cognitive workouts to capture the full range of benefits both  can offer. Use programs that actively ask folks to work together, such as a collaborative game in the classroom or  a points-based challenge that awards extra “points” when they work together.  

Friends make us happy. 

A recent study by the technology company K4Connect found residents see their friendships and connections with  others as an important measure of their happiness. Doesn’t that just make sense? As social creatures, we like to  feel connected and supported. Having friends provides that sense of belonging, which in turn is an important part  of promoting our wellbeing. This matters from a brain fitness perspective, as does the ways friendship can buffer  emotional distress, boost our sense of self-worth, and make it easier to value ourselves as we grow older. Finally,  the K4Connect study found that folks who have friends in their community are more likely to stick around. This  suggests that focusing less on attendance and more on helping everyone find their friends is not only good for  their brains and wellbeing, but also for your bottom line. 

Try celebrating the love of friendship this Valentine’s Day with some creative ways to highlight what friendship  means to us and chances to make new ones. And look to add activities to your calendar that explore aspects of  personal growth. Seek programs that give clients the chance for meaningful exploration and common experiences  around topics such as ageism, building resilience, and self-discovery in our third age. They can be a wonderful way  to connect, especially for those in a communal setting who may not know each other well. 

Here’s to the many ways friendship warms our minds and hearts, at every age! 

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Trending Topics | What You Should Know about Brain Health and Person-Centric Wellness

There is a new vision of wellness in active aging.

Recently The Mather Institute proposed that it is time to dispense with a traditional definition of wellness and adopt one driven by “the process of engaging in behaviors and decisions that enable people to reach their full potential.” Their excellent overview defines a new model of wellness that is “person-centric,” focused on the individual and the drivers that motivate all of us to move towards vital, purposeful living.

How does Mather’s vision of person-centric wellness impact how we think about brain health training? In fact, it is a perfect fit. This new perspective spotlights much of what we know are best practices for supporting individuals seeking to stay sharp, lower their dementia risk, or live well with memory challenge. Here are a few ways this forward-looking model aligns with what we know brings everyone better cognitive wellness.

Brain fitness is always personal

Cognitive wellness is a broad concept, with multiple, overlapping ways we can all engage to think better and live more vitally. These include making lifestyle choices that impact our dementia risk, training our thinking skills with targeted workouts, using memory strategies to rev up recall, and exploring the third age challenges that fuel psychological growth.

Because cognitive fitness spreads such a big tent, the pursuit of better brain health is necessarily personal. All of us come to our “brain health baseline” with personal strengths, needs, and interests. And there is more than enough room for each of us to determine our ever-evolving journey towards better cognitive vitality. Shifting our professional perspective to acknowledge that everyone is empowered to forge their own path to better brain fitness should be the first step to any cognitive training program. Next, we need to align what we offer to ensure we provide robust opportunities that motivate everyone to find a way to boost their brainpower. This includes introductory how-to classes about the ways we can build better brain fitness as well as multiple, sustainable ways folks can find their own path forward, whether that includes working out at the gym, joining a museum trip, learning how they can remember names better, or deciding to be more social and joining some new friends for dinner.

Individualized measures of success matter more

A person-centric approach asks us to re-think how we measure success by focusing on metrics that reflect individual achievement over community-based measurements, such as attendance. This emphasis on individualized measures of success aligns well with a best practices brain health approach. First, person-centric wellness highlights the motivational value of personal achievement. Simply put, if we feel we are making gains, we are more inclined to keep at it.

Since we know brain training goals are personal, measures that reflect the individual’s sense of achievement give us a more effective way to assess impact, as well as useful benchmarks to further customize what we offer. In addition, we know that good brain training always extends beyond the classroom. Students must apply what they learn to truly experience achievement. For example, while we may learn a strategy to rev up our recall for names, mastering that strategy relies on practicing it as we meet people in our daily lives. Knowing if someone was present in a classroom doesn’t tell us the real impact of training in the same way as tapping qualitative, personal outcomes such as daily habit changes, self-efficacy, or even simply whether a program met their objectives and was a satisfying experience.

The delivery context is critical

How integrated is your healthy living initiative to your community experience? A person-centric model asks that we consider the context in which wellness is delivered, knowing that promoting healthier living cannot not take place in a vacuum. This is true for brain health practices as well. Helping everyone boost brainpower must go beyond what’s on the calendar to all aspects of your community, including the environment and culture. If you teach folks the ways they can eat for better brain health but there is little choice on the menu beyond comfort foods, there is a disconnect between what they are learning and the opportunity they have to profit from it.

Try looking at all aspects of your community through a brain healthy lens. How does your location encourage enjoying the outdoors? Is your culture memory friendly, with things such as clearly marked signage for easier wayfinding or a fun, community-wide habit that makes it easier for everyone to learn names? Are you finding ways to surprise everyone with “pop up” creative activities that challenge and delight their minds? Are the social areas welcoming to all, or the exclusive realm of groups that may leave others feeling isolated? Creating a context that supports brain healthy living is mission critical to helping all minds thrive in your community.

At the beginning of every journey to cognitive vitality is someone’s desire to take better care of themselves. Understanding that as well as how to best provide the tools they need for success is at the heart of wellness, no matter how it is viewed.

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What’s On Their Minds? 4 Surprising Things Residents Want from Your Brain Fitness Programs 

Do you know what your residents are thinking about brain fitness?

That’s a question we ponder a lot at Total Brain Health. As leaders in cognitive wellness training, we make it our business to be smart about what motivates adults of all ages and abilities to take better care of their brains. So, what are they looking for?

They want the real deal. Today’s residents (and those looking for tomorrow!) are savvy consumers. They have seen the brain health science and imagine you have, too. You are offering wellness as a stand-apart reason to join your community, and they expect that offer to include meaningful, robust opportunities to rev up their recall, reduce their risk for cognitive loss, and connect with others. And they know that trivia and bingo aren’t going to do that. 

They want to thrive. Your residents – just like the rest of us – want to stay healthy and vital. In fact, marketing reports show wellness engagement is a major driver of community move-ins. Guess what is a perfect match? Brain health. Research confirms that interventions across body, mind, and spirit are critical to brain vitality for everyone along the cognitive continuum. Expert-designed cognitive fitness training can not only meet this need but also help you highlight the value of your overall wellness offerings.

They want to be heard. What do residents want to see on your calendar? Members of your community expect a voice in how they want to spend their time. We know that when residents are asked, memory improvement training and brain fitness programs are always – always! – at the top of their list. You can show you value those expectations by delivering cutting-edge cognitive wellness training. Your calendar can be chock-a-block with activities, but if it doesn’t show you are including ones that are worth their while, satisfaction and attendance will be low. And nobody wants that.

They want to keep going on their own. Residents know brain fitness doesn’t just happen once a week. They are looking for sustainable ways to bring brain training home, with on-demand workouts they can do on their own or with each other. Your cognitive wellness program should have “legs” that give them hands-on ways to take what they’ve learned and continue building better brainpower on their own time. Offering folks agency over their brain health can not only make them happier and more confident but also gives you a smart way to extend program reach while preserving your team’s precious time.

At Total Brain Health, we know there’s a lot of collective wisdom in what your residents want from your brain fitness offerings. That’s why we are sure to listen. Our team is always looking for innovative ways to go beyond providing cutting-edge training and ensure that we partner with you in ways that challenge, engage and delight everyone in your community.

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Mental Well-Being And Brain Health | 4 Things Every Professional Should Know

No doubt you agree that mental well-being is an essential part of overall health. But did you know that it is vital to brain health as well? 

At Total Brain Health, our methodology for building better brainpower has always listed emotional balance as one of the three wellness interventions on the “Spirit” pillar of brain health. As we work to support COVID recovery in our communities, the role mental well-being plays in optimal brain vitality is even more essential – and it is information every active aging professional should know.

Here are 4 reasons why mental well-being is mission-critical to the work we do together: 

Mental well-being boosts everyday thinking skills. Forgetting is frustrating and even upsetting. Yet rarely do we connect our emotional state to trouble keeping track of our things or spacing out on a conversation. We should! Decades of research confirm that anxiety, stress, and depression take a big toll on our ability to remember. Learning ways to maintain emotional balance can directly support important everyday thinking skills such as attention, memory, and other important everyday thinking skills. Here’s one example – there is strong evidence that mindfulness practices such as controlled breathing or meditation significantly boost several cognitive abilities, including attention, memory, and problem-solving. Teaching the critical connection between mental well-being and everyday thinking and providing pathways for emotional self-care should be a top priority of every cognitive fitness program. 

Mental well-being supports cognitive vitality. Staying intellectually active has been proven to reduce dementia risk by as much as 63%. In addition, pursuing our passions or developing new creative interests boosts our chances to work out our cognitive skills and to socialize. Emotional distress decreases the likelihood we will keep stretching our minds. When we are anxious or blue, we may have a harder time getting to a class, making a trip, or going out with friends. Missing such opportunities robs us of this essential ingredient for continued cognitive health, potentially sharpening our risk for decline. Finding ways to support mental well-being can help ensure everyone in your community can robustly engage in intellectual and creative pursuits.  

Mental well-being is needed for cognitive recovery. While the lockdowns and isolation strategies were essential to containing viral spread during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports show what we feared would happen, especially for those at greatest risk: Rates of frailty, cognitive decline, and emotional distress shot up. Given the proven links between wellness and cognitive health, all this puts everyone’s current and even future brain fitness at risk. What can you do? Make sure opportunities to build better emotional balance are part of your COVID-19 recovery plan. Look for ways community members can reflect on their experience, gain insight, and grow resilience. Doing so will provide everyone with ways to not only recoup better brain health but also improve overall well-being across body, mind, and spirit.

Mental well-being is critical to optimal aging. Optimal aging reflects our strong desire to stay healthy across body, mind, and spirit, so it may not be surprising that mental well-being is part of healthy aging. However, you may not have considered that psychological growth is also key to aging well. Experts have long recognized that in fact we never stop developing, with every stage of life bringing unique new ways we are asked to change. In later life, these challenges include accepting our older self, re-evaluating our roles and connections, recognizing our personal contributions, and considering our legacy. Failing to address these psychological tasks can impact our emotional health as well as our chances to age successfully. If supporting optimal aging is part of your company’s mission, it’s time to think forward to how that commitment needs to include opportunities that foster personal growth. Such concepts are so well-integrated across our culture for younger audiences – shouldn’t they be routinely available to us at every age?

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Got Brain in the Game? Here’s Why You Should

What’s your favorite game? Perhaps you are a huge Mario fan, or love nothing more than a fierce round of chess. Always a popular pastime, games have provided distraction and a way to connect for many of us during the pandemic.

Did you know adding a bit of game to wellness engagement can bring buy-in to a whole new level? Research shows that even just a few game-based elements can make it easier to stick to healthier habits. And adding gamification to brain training packs even more of a punch, since most games themselves offer meaningful ways to target everyday cognitive skills.

Want to learn more about how you can raise the game on your cognitive wellness program? Here’s what you need to know!

What Is Gamification?

Gamification has been defined as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.” In other words, we borrow concepts usually associated with games such as points, badges, team play, and competitions to promote engagement in a new context, such as a weight loss or brain training program. Gamification for health promotion first gained attention in the 1990s and has grown significantly over the past three decades with a wide variety of both traditional and electronically based training models now available.

Does It Really Work?

Yes! Research shows gamification boosts participation, continuity and satisfaction. A 2016 study on gamification for health behaviors found that “gamification can have a positive impact for health and well-being related interventions.” Whether we are tracking points or helping our team get ahead, the positive reinforcement game elements provide are very motivating. They can also add a measurable aspect to improvements that can sometimes be hard to assess personally, such as managing stress better or being more social. As wellness experts, we can use the power of the game to drive healthier behaviors.

Why Should Our Brains Get in the Game?

Brain fitness and gamification are perfect together. Game elements can add challenges, such as playing against the clock or against others, that add robust ways to target thinking skills that are not only key to daily functioning but also vulnerable to age-related changes including sustained attention and processing speed. Games are also a wonderful source of intellectual engagement, and one of the most common ways we spend our leisure time. In addition, gamification can make the at times tedious practice of memory-boosting strategies much more fun and effective. Lastly, adding some game to our brain training allows us more opportunity to socialize and connect with others, a big bonus for those vulnerable to isolation and loneliness.

I’m Game! What Are the Instructions?

Bringing aspects of gamification to boost your cognitive training is a (sorry!) no-brainer. There is a wealth of models, a wide complement of brain wellness targets, and a range of opportunities. Look for game-based programs that encourage behaviors we know support brain fitness, including physical activity, socializing and emotional well-being. Engage everyone’s thinking skills with cognitive training that includes robust, exciting ways to be part of the action. Finally, don’t be fooled by fancy bells and whistles! You can achieve huge success with game-based brain training approaches that are group-based, easily accessible and just plain fun.

Want to test out a short game-based workout in your community? Try our TBH On Demand Game Your Brain! 15-minute interactive workout video and worksheet for some fast-paced gamification fun.

Johnson, Deterding, Kuhn et al. Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systemic review of the literature. Internet Interv 2016 Nov 2; 6:89-106.

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