DO BRAIN TRAINING APPS ACTUALLY WORK?

You might have expected to see apps to help improve memory and fend off brain-related conditions in this feature. The truth, though, is that there’s no substantial evidence to suggest so-called ‘brain training’ helps to delay conditions such as dementia. That’s a particular problem for Lumos Labs, the company behind Lumosity, which was fined $2 million in 2016 for claiming its app could alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease ( www.snipca. com/25049).

That’s not to say that apps like Lumosity (Android: www.snipca. com/25050, IOS: www.snipca. com/25053) and Elevate (Android: www.snipca.com/25051, IOS: ( www. snipca.com/25052) aren’t fun to use, of course.

In fact, you may be better off with crosswords. Research by the University of Exeter (see www.snipca. com/25055) suggests that those who regularly complete crosswords have better short-term memory and grammatical reasoning then those who don’t. If you’re running low on new crosswords to fill in, try Cluegle (Android: www.snipca.com/25056), which makes crosswords out of Google search trends, or Shortyz Crosswords (Android: www.snipca.com/25057), which downloads free, daily puzzles from newspapers across the world.

IOS users should try the Britishmade Crossword Plus ( www.snipca. com/25059), which offers 30 free crosswords, with more available through in-app purchases.