Most brain-training hacks don’t work, but a 20-year study found one that does

June 27, 2026 — 9:30am

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Since the dawn of using our brains, we’ve wondered how to strengthen them, and I’ve been as guilty as anyone of craving a quick life hack that will galvanise my grey matter.

I dived into Sudoku and shiny apps that promised to keep my mind young. But the research kept finding they mostly made me better at Sudoku and playing specific shiny apps. I even brushed my teeth with my left hand for a while to help neuroplasticity kick in.

But now a respectable journal, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, has linked a computer game to lower dementia risk, and some experts are cautiously excited. The 20-year ACTIVE trial is the largest, and one of the longest-running, tests of cognitive training ever conducted in the United States. It randomly assigned just under 2800 healthy older adults across four groups. One engaged in memory training, one in reasoning training, and of course there was the do-nothing control group (often my favourite group!).

And one group tackled a “speed of processing” game, involving objects flashing on screen while the subject identified their locations. The test became harder and faster as they improved.

Twenty years on, those who did at least eight hours’ speed training over five to six weeks, plus at least one 75-minute booster session, recorded a 25 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. For neuroscience, this is........

© The Sydney Morning Herald