More from Fox: New Alzheimer’s Drug Looks Promising “When we follow employees using the program, we see improvements in their management of anxiety, depression and stress, and we also see gains in productivity,” said Behar. In an outcome study they conducted at Nationwide Insurance, which is using the software, they found an 8% improvement in productivity, 7% decrease in absenteeism and 10% gains in stress management and emotional resilience, Behar said.First, employees take a 30-minute computer-based assessment, which analyzes how they do in different brain domains, such as memory, attention, emotional resilience and executive function.The results highlight your brain strengths and areas that need help. The program then suggests games (and other online tools) to help strengthen those skills. Each game focuses the brain on a certain task.To improve your memory, you can play a Concentration-like game, in which you flip over cards and match images. To enhance positive thinking, there’s a game that requires you to click on smiling faces, rather than frowns or grimaces. A particularly challenging attention game requires you to balance a basketball on the tip of the cursor, without letting it drop, while increasing numbers of balls (distractions) are thrown your way. Games becomes more and more challenging as you master each level.“The data we have suggests…if you train for 10 minutes three times a week, you’ll see improvements in attention and memory, overall better brain health and more emotional resilience,” Behar said.The most popular games? Those that improve memory. More from Fox: The Strange Risk Of Eating Fish
