Which Brain Apps Should Seniors Use To Exercise the Mind?

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Aging adults can still work on improving their brainpower. And that is possible with the help of brain and memory game apps. Read further for a list of some of the best brain apps for seniors available.

Certified Senior Advisor®
Senior Home Safety Specialist®
20 years of medical equipment experience
Compassionately helping seniors and their caregivers solve challenges of aging
Best Brain Apps For Seniors
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Memory declines caused by aging may be common, but it is also extremely frustrating. While certain changes might be one of the natural parts of aging, it shouldn’t mean they are inevitable.

Instead, older adults can still work on improving their brainpower. Memory games and brain apps designed for seniors can help with this. 

These apps mainly follow a “use it or lose it” mentality, which suggests that if individuals are challenging their minds regularly, a decline in memory and cognition can be delayed or become less likely.

Best Brain Apps For Seniors

Apps that exercise the brain and improve mental agility are one of many game apps that seniors can play for fun and relaxation. Here are some of my favorites.

Staying Sharp

Besides offering interactive software and games, the Staying Sharp system also offers brain-healthy recipes, activity lists to keep the body and brain active, and articles that cover current brain research.

Users also have the option to create personalized plans and to track all their progress in the app.

Brain Age

It is no surprise that certain people’s brains will age differently compared to others.

For example, you may have a mother that is 85 years old who still remembers everything, while your brother of 45 years old, might already be struggling with a condition such as memory loss. 

Brain Age (available at Amazon) contains a game set that is suitable for all ages. The markers relating to the system have reported that you could improve your cognitive ability and memory in a few minutes of daily use.

Like other brain apps for seniors, this system also allows users to track their progress as they go. 

Memory Games Apps For Seniors

Simon Says

This app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, provides the classic Simon Says game. This game includes notes and colors that light up that the user needs to repeat in a sequence.

There are also different modes to choose from, including:

  • Classic: Repeat a sequence that increases with each round
  • Chaos: The sequence will be randomized for each round
  • Reverse: Replay sequences in reverse
  • Opposite: This game involves replaying the opposite buttons displayed
  • Single: Only a new color added to a sequence will playback. This game involves repeating the entire sequence

Remembery – Memory Game Pairs

The aim of this game is very simple and just involves matching cards. The game includes 12 difficulty levels and various images for each title. Shapes, flags, numbers, and cats are examples of the available options.

This game also includes different versions to choose from, such as:

  • Limited Tries
  • Simple
  • Remember All
  • Campaign
  • Time Challenge

Remembery is available on the Google Play Store.

Free Brain Apps For Seniors

Like any other muscle in the human body, our brains also require special “workouts” to remain strong. Muscles that aren’t used regularly and efficiently can become weak over time.

So using scientifically approved and free brain apps for seniors is one of the best ways to keep the brain active. 

MentalUP

MentalUP offers 27 interactive and free games for seniors. Some of these include:

  • Logic Balls – This game is a fantastic brain game for seniors and involves visualization and reasoning skills. 
  • Tricky Blocks – Counting in this game is incredibly tricky. If you think this is an easy game, you will change your mind quickly once you start. 
  • Tangram Puzzles – Tangram is a popular brain game for seniors. It requires pretty strong planning and visualization skills. 
best brain apps for seniors game
Games that challenge our cognitive skills are a good workout for the brain.

Game Apps For Brain Training

Peak

Peak is an app designed to help your brain “reach its peak” with 40 unique games developed with the assistance of neuroscientists. These games focus on challenging cognitive skills while pushing the user to take one step further daily.

A personal trainer or coach will help you find the right workouts for your brain. Focus, attention, coordination, language, creativity, and more can be smartly learned when using this top-rated brain-training game. 

NeuroNation

Rated as one of the best game brain apps for Android, NeuroNation is a good option for those that find it hard to concentrate or whose memory is starting to decline. The app includes 27 exercises on 250 levels that all promote balance for the brain. 

Sudoku

Sudoku puzzles, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, are among the best ways to give your brain a workout. Thousands of puzzles are featured in this popular mind-game app, and most people agree that the experience is more enjoyable than paper and pen. 

The app also includes highlighted duplicates, auto-check, and hints to help you out when you get stuck. You can also check on the “daily statistics” to track your progress.

Sudoku can be downloaded on Android or iOS for a small fee of $4.99. 

Game Apps For Mental Agility

BrainHQ 

BrainHQ is a fantastic tool for people that are facing issues associated with memory decline. This app includes a series of brain exercises that can help you to remember biographical details and names.

It allows you to test how your memory works, enhance your overall reaction time, practice splitting your attention, boost your cognitive skills, and more.

Elevate – Brain Training and Brain Games

Elevate is also a popular brain-training tool that Google has chosen as its Editor’s Choice since it delivers excellence in brain training. This app was created to boost memory, thought processes, attention, math skills, speaking skills, and so much more.

Each user will receive a personalized “training program” that fixes as time passes to enhance and maximize results.

It includes an impressive range of features, including more than 35 brain games that focus on complex cognitive skills such as comprehension, precision, and focus.

You can also monitor your brain’s improvements since the app includes a highly useful performance-tracking system.

Lumosity Brain Training

The Lumosity app includes over 40 games that target various capabilities of the mind in association with memory, math, attention, language, and more.

The diverse range of games is designed to keep the user’s brain flexible, which can help them to face unexpected life challenges. To add more interest to these games, there is also a timer that helps the user to keep track of their progress.

best brain apps for seniors memory
The CogniFit app helps you train your concentration and memory.

Game Apps For Memory

Train your Brain

Train your Brain is an app compatible with iOS and Android and available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Some people will recall the nostalgia since these games are familiar to most of us.

The popular options include repeat sequences, finding card pairs, associating objects, and more. The games on this app are designed to improve both short-and-long-term memory. 

The difficulty levels are also customizable, so the games can be adapted to every skill level and age. Train your Brain is available in 5 different languages. The design of the app is also attractive and colorful.

CogniFit Brain Fitness

Designed by neuroscientists, CogniFit Brain Fitness incorporates many useful tactics and tips to help you train your concentration and memory. The features of this app are designed to help users overcome certain cognitive impairment types.

The user can also choose levels according to their ability and age. More importantly, while the user plays, all the results are saved to a program. The player’s progress is then divided into different subgroups that match up to the considered skill. 

You won’t find it difficult to find the games that you enjoy playing since the program is set out comfortably and clearly. Like many of the other useful apps, this version requires purchase after trying it out for a month for free. 

Elevate

For those looking to boost their cognitive skills, Elevate is a useful app that provides this opportunity. The app includes 35 games divided into three sections.

You must subscribe to a “PRO” version to access the two additional sections. These games are more interesting and better suited to older adults than children since the themes covered are more educational and focus on the user’s attention.

The app also lacks pictures and bright visuals. Some of the examples of what you can do on the app include tasks or activities where you will need to find grammar mistakes or test your “reading comprehension.” The app also includes a section designed to help you enhance your memory. 

There is also a graph that you can refer to that displays your current progress or how you have fulfilled tasks. If you are looking for more incentives, you can also compare how your current track record matches up to other people that are using the app. 

Conclusion

Brain training games and apps are designed to increase brain plasticity and improve brain development.

The brain and memory game apps mentioned in this article are designed to enhance cognitive skills, cognitive powers, IQ, and concentration, focusing on improving the effectiveness or speed of common day-to-day tasks.

As we learn more about the benefits of training the brain, more and more software developers are working on developing extremely useful brain training and memory apps for Android and iOS devices.

Most brain-exercising games are perfect for seniors that are concerned about memory decline.

Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®
Senior Home Safety Specialist (SHSS)®
Assistive Technology Professional

Scott Grant has spent more than 20 years serving seniors and the elderly in the home medical equipment industry. He has worked as a manufacturer's rep for the top medical equipment companies and a custom wheelchair specialist at a durable medical equipment (DME) provider in WV. He is father to 4 beautiful daughters and has three terrific grandkids. When not promoting better living for older adults, he enjoys outdoor activities including hiking and kayaking and early morning runs.

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