A Better Brain For A Better Job

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by: Martin G. Walker
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Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2009 Time: 9:46 PM
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Printing presses were used in Asia for hundreds of years before Johannes Gutenberg, a professional goldsmith, developed new processes for using typeface and ink to bring printing to the West. Comparable to the invention of writing, or, more recently, the Internet, as a force for change in society, the Gutenberg printing press augured in an age of increasingly widespread literacy and dissemination of knowledge. This trend has gone on unabated ever since, leading to a shift of more and more jobs into the realm of information and information processing.

In the modern workplace, our brain is our most valuable asset. We spend much of our working day using our problem-solving skills and expending considerable mental effort. However with the barrage of information we need to deal with in the form of e-mails, text messages, conference calls, voicemail, etc., we rarely have time to focus on any one thing for very long. Ironically this chronic multi-tasking undermines our ability form memories and stimulate deep learning, making it difficult for us to develop the skills we need to succeed.

As ever, it seems that science will provide the escape route for its own maze. Researchers have shown that even adult brains can grow and change under the right conditions, demonstrating that we can improve our ability to solve problems by employing the right kind of brain training.

In a study proving the effectiveness of such brain training, a team from the Universities of Michigan and Bern devised a novel training protocol to progressively strengthen visual and aural working-memory with a single exercise. After just 19 days of training, each person in a group of graduate students increased their fluid intelligence by at least 40% over and above the scores of those in a control group. The potential benefits to job performance of this kind of jump in mental ability are substantial.

What better way to shine at work so that you can get in line for that promotion, or to prepare for a switch to a more mentally challenging and more lucrative field of work? It's always better to think smarter than to work harder.

If you want to boost your marketability by boosting your mental agility, it's very important that you purchase training software that is effective. Not all brain training products achieve these kinds of results. In their study, the university researchers developed a particularly effective working-memory training protocol called "dual n-back." Dual n-back working memory training delivers the most rigorous and effectice brain training yet developed. (In the interests of full disclosure, and to shorten your search, I should mention that I was so impressed by the research that my company uses the dual n-back method in my its brain training program, Mind Sparke Brain Fitness Pro.)

In a downturn like this with unemployment on the rise and salaries stagnating, it makes sense to increase the value of your most valuable asset. This new training method can help us do just that.

About the Author

Oxford-trained scientist, author, and technologist, Martin G. Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. His company Mind Evolve Software publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training as well as effective and affordable brain training software under the brand name Mind Sparke.

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