Get Better Willpower Now, Achieve Goals Tomorrow
January 17th 2012 04:43
Lumosity training is not done for training itself—it's done for better memory, speed, and problem solving. It's about the benefits. Those immediate benefits are, in turn, done to achieve larger goals: getting through medical school, being awarded a promotion at work, achieving a healthier lifestyle, and more.
The key to completing large life goals is having the willpower and the skills to do so. Luckily, there is evidence to suggest that willpower may also be trainable.
A few months ago, we featured a study from Psychological Science in which University of Amsterdam researchers used challenging working memory exercises (similar to Lumosity's Memory Matrix and Monster Garden) to lower the drinking rates of problem drinkers.
Participants in this study—all of whom had trouble controlling the impulse to drink alcohol—were split into a training group and a control group. The training group had 25 daily sessions of challenging working memory tasks, while the control group trained with the easiest levels of those tasks. Not only did the training group improve memory capacity and drink less than the control, but these effects were still visible one month after the study ended.
Cognitive training can help people control impulses and make healthier life choices. With further research, it may even be possible to investigate whether training can help people stick to their diets or save money, for example. Here are suggestions for incorporating training into your lifestyle:
Make a regular schedule for training
Not only is regular training (once every 1-2 days) more effective according to our data, but a schedule will also help you get accustomed to sticking to larger goals and improving a little at a time.
Combine your goals
Do you want to lose weight? Consider physical health and mental health as part of the same regimen; many members report doing Lumosity before or after a gym workout, for example. Think of creative ways to combine your other goals.
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