Excercise

Did you see the report last week about the “brain gym”? I don’t remember where it was located, NOT because there is anything wrong with my memory, but because I really didn’t care enough to remember it in the first place. Where the gym was located isn’t important. The fact that people are going to it and paying to do so is what I find fascinating.

The premise of the enterprise is that our brains need exercise and that certain areas of the brain need more exercise than others. The brain gym is offering that exercise in the form of video games and challenges specifically tailored to individual needs. The reporter interviewed a stroke victim and some older people who had greatly benefited from the program.  

Now my first inclination was to laugh at the very idea of someone needing to pay to have another person help them “exercise their brain”.  But isn’t that really just another form of school? Don’t I do the very same thing? If someone gets better attendance and results by calling it a “brain gym”, then the more I think about it, the more I think I want the franchise! Lol  

John Q. Public loves gimmicks and those with money love to think they are paying for the best gimmick. They seek out the newest gadgets and follow the latest trends. If brain exercise becomes the next hottest trend there may be hope for us all!

Comments

[Megan]

I totally hope brain exercises catch on because I run across people all the time who are not flexing their grey matter.

Last year I read that a type of video game playing was proving successful with ADD/ADHD problems. It was helping retrain their brain to be less impulsive. (This was not mass marketed gaming, it was specifically developed for this type of thing and the kids were connected to computers to scan their brains while playing.)

I think it's hard to tell if gaming will help, but ANYTHING someone does to become a sharper, more productive member of society gets my vote--as long as it's legit. Playing HALO for 5 hours a day is just not going to cut it I think.