At this time, which I believe to be right now, I’d like to address the exercising (NOT exorcising) of the brain. Exercising of the brain is crucial in the fight against Parkinson’s Disease, and in particular against Parkinson’s Dementia. The instructors at Rock Steady Boxing clearly understand this and try to mix in some activities that require you to think.

I also have some brain exercising that I do at home each day. Many years ago, I started frequenting Lumosity. This is a web site featuring games that are designed to be fun, while also providing a workout for the brain. You can choose a free membership, which automatically selects three games for you to play each day, or you can pay and play any /all of their games whenever you want. I’ve always just had the free membership. After several years, most of the games are still fun for me, though I have grown weary of a couple of them.

More recently, I started using Elevate. This is an app for your phone, which also features games that are designed to train the brain, while being fun. Again, you can go with a free membership, which automatically selects three games for you to play each day, or you can pay and play any /all of their games whenever you want. Here too, I’ve always just had the free membership.

Despite their similarities, there is a big difference between Elevate and Lumosity. Elevate’s games are highly oriented towards improving math skills and speaking/writing skills, whereas Lumosity’s games seem to have a more general orientation towards improving reasoning skills and hand/eye coordination. Let’s put it this way: when I finish playing Lumosity, I feel like I’ve given my brain a decent workout; when I finish playing Elevate, I often feel like I’ve actually learned something I can put to practical use. My math skills and my writing have definitely improved due to the games on Elevate.

I have also found that, in my case, there are unexpected emotional benefits. When I play either Lumosity or Elevate first thing in the morning, I experience less anxiety/depression throughout the day than I feel on days when I play them later in the day or not at all. So, check ’em both out, then comment below to let me know what you think of them!