App of the week: Memorado

Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on helpful apps. We focus on a variety of products that are useful for work, personal use, or both, providing our own thoughts on the apps and what you can do with them. This week we improve our brain function with Memorado.

An intro to Memorado
Brain games test our memory and cognitive control, which in turn helps us learn faster and retain more information. A better brain can only improve your productivity at work, which is why regular mental challenges are so helpful for PAs and office workers.

Enter Memorado, a set of clever online and app-based games designed to train your brain for increased intelligence. On your first use, Memorado asks where you’d like to improve so it can calculate personalised goals. Then you’re taken through a series of assessment tests designed to find out what your current cognitive level is. Finally, you’re given a bespoke training schedule full of games that can help you meet your goals.

The app was developed by brain training experts who have strong ties with the research community. Memorado is currently utilised by 1 million users in 39 countries, who report a 76% increase in brain ability.

Our review
I stumbled upon Memorado as a product recommended by the Apple App Store and decided it was worth trying out the free version. I started it up for the first time during my lunch break and found myself so engrossed in the assessment tests that my food was forgotten and the background noise of the office wasn’t filtering through. That counts as a good aspect for me, because it told me I could play the games on train journeys and not be distracted by other passengers.

It’s a very easy app to get along with. It doesn’t even prompt you to create an account straight away; you’re taken straight into the steps that will determine your training schedule. The games are simple and fun but definitely present a challenge; I really enjoyed the fact that I had to put some serious thought into the puzzles because it meant the games were doing their job. I probably haven’t been playing long enough yet to notice a difference in my abilities, but it certainly is getting easier to get through the games every time I play.

The verdict
Give Memorado a try. It’s free to start (you only have to pay if you want a premium account with more games). It’s fun. It’s easy to jump in and out if you just want something to occupy your mind during your commute or a coffee break. There’s really nothing to lose.

Play Memorado online at memorado.co.uk, or download the app in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.