Train your brain with these thought-provoking apps

Lumosity

Lumosity’s free brain training programme is a fun and interactive way to make a daily habit out of acquiring knowledge and learning about how you think. It offers a comprehensive series of activities designed to put your critical thinking, memory and problem-solving skills to the test, challenging your mental muscles across a variety of segments.

When you get started, you can take a free 10-minute Fit Test to set your baseline scores and see how you compare with other users of the same age.

Get Lumosity for Apple devices here and Android devices here.

Personal Zen

The Personal Zen app is clinically proven to reduce stress, all by getting you to play a fun and relaxing game. Built by a team of leading neuroscientists and mobile developers, playing Personal Zen actually retrains your brain to lower stress and anxiety.

Using the app for up to 40 minutes a week has been shown to have powerful stress-reduction effects. You can lower your stress and anxiety in as little as one sitting, and the more you play, the more you strengthen your well-being and vaccinate yourself against the negative effects of today’s hectic world.

Find Personal Zen here on the App Store.

Brain It On!

Brain It On! is full of deceptively challenging puzzles designed to get your brain in gear.

It invites you to draw shapes to solve complex physics puzzles, with new challenges added to the app frequently. If your friends use the app too, you can make it competitive and play against them to win the Brain It On! crown.

Find Brain It On! here on the App Store and here on the Play Store.

Happify

Focusing on specifics such as helping you to limit stress levels and overcome negative thoughts, Happify’s science-based activities provide effective tools and programmes to improve your emotional well-being overall. The techniques used in the app are developed by leading scientists and experts who've been studying evidence-based interventions in the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy for decades.

Struggling with everyday challenges and being gripped by negativity can be toxic to one's emotional and physical health, relationships and performance at work. So when you start to turn the corner, and begin to learn the new habits of successful engagement with life, everything starts to look better and brighter.

Happify is free to download. Find it on the App Store here and the Play Store here.

Elevate

Elevate is a brain training programme specifically designed to improve your focus, speaking abilities, processing speed, memory, maths skills and more. Every user is provided with a personalised training regime that adjusts over time the more you use it, helping you to maximise results.

The more you train with Elevate, the more you'll improve critical cognitive skills that are proven to boost your productivity, earning power and self-confidence.

Download Elevate from the App Store and the Play Store.