Free Quizzes for Brain Stimulation - Protect Yourself Against Dementia

Many retirees are looking for new and creative ways to keep their minds stimulated.  While it can be helpful to work on crossword puzzles, try your hand at Soduko, or challenge yourself with a variety of activities and games, many people would like another way to improve their knowledge and keep their brain active.

Research has shown that learning new things and stimulating different parts of your brain are important parts of an overall plan to protect yourself from Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.   Along with regular physical exercise, a healthy diet, and social involvement, stimulating your brain is one of the "pillars of brain health." There are a variety of ways to stimulate your brain, including learning to play a musical instrument, learning a new language, or tackling mentally stimulating games. (Ad)

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Although there are a variety of brain game sites on the internet which offer to stimulate your mind, many of the sites, such as Luminosity, charge fees.  Consequently, I was very interested when JetPunk contacted me about the free quizzes on their site. Visitors can use the site for free, without giving the site any of their personal information, and challenge themselves in a variety of fields of knowledge.  You can also repeat the quizzes as often as you wish, to increase your proficiency.  I have tried a couple of the quizzes, and thought they were both challenging and fun.

The site was created by the Hostetler Brothers, Dan and John, in 2008, and it has thousands of quizzes covering a wide range of topics including math, vocabulary, history, geography, and pop culture, to name just a few. Many teachers even use JetPunk to create their own quizzes. You can learn more about JetPunk and how to access the quizzes on their site in the guest post they submitted below:

JetPunk Quizzes Can Stimulate Your Brain

by Judy Hostetler

Looking for a way to challenge your mind or keep up with your grandchildren?  JetPunk is a free website that has thousands of quizzes on topics ranging from countries of the world to Harry Potter.  I start every morning with this one: https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/short-term-memory-test.  It only takes a minute or two, and helps to jumpstart my brain.  Then, it is on to the general knowledge and vocabulary quizzes.  Everyday, there are featured quizzes which may peak your interest.

There is no cost to use the website unless you want to become a premium member.  You don’t even need to sign in, although creating an account allows you to keep track of your statistics and turn off the timer.  Want to make your own quiz?  If you’re registered, you can do that too.  Many teachers have created quizzes for their students to use, covering topics such as algebra, biology and history.

Whether you take the quizzes in the privacy of your room, or use them in social gatherings, JetPunk is a fun and challenging way to keep your mind sharp.

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If you are interested in learning more about preventing dementia and other medical issues as you age, or want to know about Medicare, Social Security, financial planning, where to retire and more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional helpful articles.

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Lumosity Brain Games for Your Memory

Are you interested in trying to use brain building exercises to improve your mental acuity and, perhaps, postpone the symptoms of dementia?  Scientists have developed a program called Lumosity that you can use for just that purpose.

Because so many Baby Boomers have begun to subscribe to Lumosity, I thought it would be worth exploring.  I began by going to www.lumosity.com.

When I clicked on "Start Training Now," I was asked which aspects of my memory I wanted to challenge.  The choices were:

Remembering patterns and locations;
Associating names with faces;
Keeping track of multiple pieces of information in my head;
Recalling sequences of objects and movements.

Of course, I checked them all!

After I hit "next," I discovered that I was also given choices regarding the areas I wanted to concentrate on in other aspects of my memory.  In each category, I was given four choices.  I checked most of the boxes for each category.  However, I skipped a few that I did not think were particular problems for me.  For example, under "Attention," I did not check avoiding distractions.  I am generally able to stay pretty focused (and my later test score showed that I was correct).  Other people may want to choose that item.

I only made a couple of choices in the thinking speed category.  (When I received my score, however, I realized that I may not think as quickly as I thought I did!)   Under flexibility I checked all the choices.  

After choosing the areas that I thought needed the most development, I was asked to set up an account and give them my email address so I could start my free Fit Test.  They began by asking my gender, level of education and occupation.  This was followed by more questions regarding how much I exercise, how much sleep I get, etc.  Then they generated my assessment tests.


I completed three tests that were designed to assess my speed, attention and memory.  They were a bit more challenging than I expected.

Here were my final results, when compared to other people in my age group of 65 to 69:

Speed - 42% of people
Train of thought - 87% of people
Memory matrix - 61% of people

I was right that I am able to stay focused and maintain my train of thought.  My memory, on the other hand, was only slightly above the typical score.  My speed, however, was slower than my peers, which surprised me.  This is definitely an area that needs work.

After completing the tests, a screen popped up that said they were creating a personalized training program for me.  When nothing changed on that screen after several minutes, I logged off.  Then I went back to the site and my personal results were awaiting me.

Once you have done the free assessment, they invite you to take advantage of their full program.  You can continue to play a few of their games for free, which I have done periodically in the following months.  This is a good way to determine whether or not you think you will consistently use the program.

If you decide that you do want the full, personalized program that is designed specifically for you, those games are not free. However, they do offer a range of price options ... paying for the program monthly, yearly or as a two year subscription.  It can cost as little as $3 a month for an individual who pays two years in advance or as much as $11.95 a month for those who prefer to pay monthly.

If you wait for a few weeks, you will be offered an opportunity to purchase the program at a discount of 25% to 35%.  It is worth it NOT to sign up the minute you do the first assessment.

If you do sign up for the personalized program, the daily games you will be given will be based on the mental areas that you think are most important for you to exercise, as well as the results of your tests.  Lumosity will continually challenge you to perform better and better.

According to the Lumosity website, the exercises are designed by neuroscientists and are continually evaluated through independent research studies at institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California at Berkeley.  This program could prove to be a fun, interesting and helpful way for Baby Boomers to keep their minds as sharp as possible.

The site also claims that just ten to fifteen minutes of doing these exercises each day can lead to improvements in your mental function, at least as measured by the Lumosity tests. 

Lumosity members can be found in 180 different countries.  People all over the world are finding that these brain challenges can improve the way they think.

You can try Lumosity for yourself at www.lumosity.com.  At the very least, you may want to take the assessment tests and decide if you think you either need the program or whether it would be helpful to you.

Please note: I have no financial interest in the company, nor do I receive any commissions if people decide to sign up.  I just thought I would give the program a try, since so many Baby Boomers have expressed interest in it.

In addition, it is important to remember:  You may be able to get similar improvements in your thinking skills by doing crossword puzzles, playing video games such as the ones created by BrainAge, playing card games like Bridge and staying socially, physically and mentally active.

If you are interested in reading more about health and retirement issues, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this article.  They contain links to hundreds of additional articles on a variety of topics related to retirement and aging.

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Use It or Lose It - Your Brain in Retirement

As you prepare to retire, have you given much thought to how you will spend your time?  Many people look forward to the day they can finally retire, kick back and relax.  However, there is a lot of medical evidence indicating that spending too much time resting our bodies and our minds is not a healthy approach.  Relaxation might be great for a one week vacation, but it is not the ideal way to plan to spend the next twenty years of your life.

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, in an article he wrote for the May/June, 2011 edition of the AARP Magazine, there are risks in retirement, especially for your brain.  In essence, we must use it or lose it.  It is extremely important that we continue to keep our brains stimulated and it helps to learn something new ... to play an instrument, speak a new language, or learn a challenging new game.

We have always known that this is true when we have talked about our body and our muscles.  If we don’t get up and take frequent walks, we will eventually discover that it becomes harder and harder to maintain our health and stay in good physical shape.  The same principle applies to the brain.

Earlier this year, the RAND Center for the Study of Aging published a study that was done in conjunction with the University of Michigan.  They tested cognitive performance in people from a variety of countries and discovered that cognitive performance was lower in countries that had earlier retirement ages.  In other words, when people stop working and spend too much time in undemanding activities, their mental ability begins to atrophy!

Think about what that means when people strive to give up their careers as soon as possible.  Suddenly, they no longer spend their work days around other people.  They no longer have to read challenging material, or learn new skills.  They are less likely to be engaged with complicated problems that they have to solve.  Their brain begins to lose its edge.

What can you do to prevent this decline?  Many medical researchers suggest that retirement is the perfect time to start a second career, or learn a new language.  Have you always wanted to play a musical instrument?  Retirement may be opportunity you've been waiting for.  You could even get together with your friends and start a garage band.  Why not?  This is the time of your life when you have the time and opportunity to learn anything new that interests you!  Just remember how important it is to keep challenging yourself.

This might also be a fun time to go back to college and advance your education.  Many community colleges offer inexpensive or free classes to senior citizens.  Ask about the Emeritus Program at a college near you.  

You could take up writing, become a yoga teacher, or design jewelry and sell it at craft fairs.  Whatever you do, you should make certain that you are exercising both your mind and your body frequently.  Find activities that are mentally challenging and that force you to interact regularly with other people.  Both the mental stimulation and the social interaction will have a positive effect on the quality of your retirement years.

If you are interested in learning new things that will improve your life after retirement, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this page for links to hundreds of additional articles on financial planning, health concerns, where to retire and more!

Photo credit: Morguefile.com

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