What is Reddit's opinion of
Lumosity?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
39 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
Have you ever tried Lumosity? - It's been helping me clear out the "brain fog" in the morning.
From what I've researched it is possible to relieve symptoms through cognitive training. CBT is a form of cognitive training that has the ability to change brain chemistry. It just takes a loooooong time.
No. It is 100% unadulterated bullshit.
I'm going to edit to say there is some science indicating that people born in different seasons (seasons--not months) have different propensities toward mental illness and some other issues, due to maternal malnutrition and other environmental factors. Citations and overview here:
http://www.lumosity.com/blog/are-winter-babies-smarter-than-summer-babies/
However! This is not astrology!
Astrology claims that the stars and gods affect the personality of the children.
It is a silly, mystical explanation for phenomena that can be explained in other ways (exposure to pollen, maternal nutrition, etc.).
Note that the few studies on this would imply that people in the Southern Hemisphere would have astrology systems opposite to those developed in the Northern Hemisphere. I suspect that this is not the case because the systems are so ridiculous. However, it would be an interesting artifact of religion if it were.
Dual-n-back. It isn't perfect as a metric, because it won't test things like motivation or long-term memory and it counts as an intervention in itself. But it's certainly better than nothing it will give you useful information, especially if some intervention is hindering your performance.
Some Lumosity brain games can be helpful too.
My brain is very much like this. Whatever it thinks I won't have to use in the near future gets forgotten. I like learning, meaning I'm always hanging around on /r/todayilearned and watching QI and stuff. Two days later, I've forgotten all of it. That's probably why: quite a lot of information input means quite a lot has to go.
The problem is that my library/archive isn't very big. Can I make it bigger? Is there a way to train my brain so that I remember things more easily passively (without mnemonics)? Or are things like Lumosity just a fad?
It's a series of games that supposedly improve one's brain power in various areas of performance, such as memory, attention, problem solving, etc.
note: I've never played the games nor do I have anything to do with the company, just providing a link for convenience.
Here's an article which outlines a study that suggests memory can be improved. Here's another. I haven't found much on the speed issue but it doesn't sound too far fetched.
Lumosity claims to have scientific backing from neuroscientists at various colleges so maybe there's some validity to what they say. But even if it was all true, never put it past marketers to promise more than what's actually delivered.
With that said, it certainly can't hurt to exercise your brain every once in awhile. While I wouldn't rely on these web sites for any hardcore brain training, I think as a casual time-killer there's no harm in them.
I became godly at this type of math using Lumosity's raindrop game:
http://www.lumosity.com/admin_assets/1171/original/raindrops_game.swf
Though the effects were short-lived, my friends would throw numbers at me and I'd know the answer instinctively.
edit; it starts off simple but becomes progressively difficult. I think the addition/subtraction will help you with your multiplication skills - but the game does evolve into multiplication & division as you progress.
double edit; use your number pad. Enter, enters your answer and the + key deletes whatever you've typed.
Your memory will get better, but your question will remain stupid. <3
A great website/app is Luminosity which helps you on series of brain exercises.
There's already some great advice posted here, but I'd like to add
- Lumosity - An online brain fitness program. You have to pay for a subscription, but in my experience it's completely worth it. It's fun too!
I'd recommend getting some baseline scores (after practice) on dual N-back and choice reaction time tests, for determining processing speed, (ex - http://www.lumosity.com/brain-games/attention-games/lost-in-migration, http://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/play/rotation-task, http://cognitivefun.net/test/17 ) before any intervention (including adderall).
Those baseline scores will allow you to determine more effectively which interventions are helpful.
Other interventions that may help:
Theanine & Caffeine
Vinpocetine
Piracetam
B Vitamin Complex, multivitamin, addressing nutritional deficiencies, etc
Not an iPad app, but this site has a bunch of games and puzzles designed to be used as an aid for stroke recovery, etc. Might be useful to her now, or later on in her recovery.
> tired would be like you had a long day at work or went for a long hike, yeah your feeling pretty tired BUT thats just cause your at low energy levels, you can still do stuff and function correctly with out brain fog etc. > Sleepy would then be the next step after tired, sleepy is the feeling that you are so tired that your actually beyond tired where now your body is screaming for sleep and so starts shutting down, brain fog, minute sleeps, etc.
I can mostly agree with this assessment of sleepiness and tiredness, but I think there is more to tiredness than physical exhaustion after a long day. Maybe it is just improper word/thought choice, but when I wake up and think "I am still tired," even after a full nights sleep, and that is more than just having low energy levels. I guess it could also be from actually having low energy levels from not getting restorative sleep.
I do disagree with your point that you can "still do stuff and function correctly without brain fog when being tired." Tiredness IMO often comes with significant cognitive effects including difficulty focusing and/or feeling "out of it." Mental exhaustion (tiredness) can occur just as physical exhaustion or tiredness can. Programs like Lumosity or other brain exercises surely can leave you feeling mentally tired upon completion, which makes it very, very difficult to function (temporarily). I think most people get mentally tired from fighting sleepiness as well, so they really do go hand in hand.
Thanks for your reply!
I'm 20 years old, getting diagnosed for ADHD. I've had similar memory problems. It's getting worse by the years... It feels terrifying.
Recently I began to "work out" my memory in order to make it stronger. There's plenty of apps you could download on your phone, that's what I did. Many apps are filled with games that train different parts of the brain. Such as memory, attention, flexibility and problem solving. My favorite is called Lumosity and sometimes I use Cognito. These seem to be working, though I won't give you my word on it. Let me know if you find one you think works better!
Another advice I could give you is to write notes. I'm not sure if this enhances your memory, but it sure helps. Whenever I have important things to remember, or fun things like new ideas, I use to write them down. I turn up grateful afterwards. Don't forget to take a lot of pictures of your child and write things down. Maybe put some memories together in a photo album.
Try Lumosity. (http://www.lumosity.com/).
It makes you play different mini-games that focus on how fast you react, enhances your memory and challenges your logical-thinking skills. It's also quite fun (and free).
Ahahaha is that the best you can do? Maybe if you stopped talking about things you don't understand, this shit wouldn't happen to you.
That might help. Otherwise, I don't know. I am sorry. Search google for ways to improve memory.
Also, have you ever had a concussion or blunt trauma in the head? Talk to your physician.
> When I dipped into webdev, I had such difficultly wrapping my head around object oriented code, I would say it took me a solid year or two before a really 'got it'.
This is actually sort of encouraging. Thanks.
> Don't give up because one early aspect was hard to grasp. There are a lot of areas in programming requiring different thought processes.
Training on Lumosity on my iPhone is teaching me that there are a lot of different conceptual types of thinking that one can improve on.
Seriously, posts like yours are what encourage me to keep going. That and this guy.
> "Trachtenberg criticized the Nazis from a pacifist perspective… [T]he Nazis caught him and transported him to a concentration camp. He diverted his attention to think on manipulation of numbers to forget the ruthlessness he witnessed in the concentration camp. Without any paper or pencil he worked mentally and only scribbled the final results on any bit of paper he could lay hands on. [He eventually] developed the mental calculation techniques called the Trachtenberg system.
I'm still very forgetful, it's not exactly at a point where it's affecting me badly, but I'll try to get it checked out after I finish my school exams (I'm in my last year so I just want to finish it and get it out of the way before I fix little problems). I used to get memory problems before, not as bad, and I tried Lumosity. I only tried it short term, but it seems like it may help. It's just simple games to try and improve your memory. Give it a go, it can't hurt to try.
As for the depression I did at one point go on medication. It had a number of side effects, however it was pretty effective. However, I did not use them as a crutch for my depression. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-medicine, in fact I love science and medical advances, but I didn't want to just depend on tablets to make me happy. What I did was take the medicine, felt a bit better, and then did my best to feel like that without it. I only used it as a boost just to get me started. Basically what I'm saying is you can use them to help boost you up, but don't rely on them to make you happy.
Have you ever considered calling up hotlines? There are a number of depression hotlines out there, and they would most likely be able to give better advice as to your options. You could also try to use Seven Cups Of Tea regularly, just to help you get started. Maybe try learning on your own to boost your confidence, such as a language or skill. You could also try researching different study/learning methods. Some people learn best by reading, others by listening, and some people need to move around to learn. You need to find what works best for you. Just try your best to find the help you need before worrying about this degree.
Also I'm glad you liked the website, I think it should help you a lot.
Yeah I do know Jane McDonigal. Read her book and saw a TEDtalk. She is very... and I mean very optimistic though. But I see how that is needed to get the industry going. I could see the tetris thing working though. The game play shares a lot with EMDR.
As to get back to specific games, maybe you could start with Lego Star Wars to ease her into gaming. It has very forgiving gameplay which would be good. Splatoon would also be good, but competition is intense in that game, so that might take a while to enjoy. I still think Mariokart is a very good choice, be sure to play with the minimap on (training that visuo-spatial attention). I haven't played Tenchu, but I think that could work too. I don't think there is much benefit in getting a PS4 or Xbox has much more benefit therapy wise, but if you think she'll enjoy the games more sure. And its nice to get for yourself of course ;)
For iPad you could give Lumosity a shot. It is on online platform created specifically for cognitive training.
I think regular entertainment games work better in a lot of respects, but lumosity does train a lot of things that most entertainment games don't. And it offers a way to look at progression, which could work as a huge motivator. You can give it a try http://www.lumosity.com/
Don't know why I didn't think of Lumosity before. It can be a big help to understand the cognition behind what you are playing and how it relates to skills in the real world.
I get really excited talking about this stuff. Let me know if you see the gaming help :)
I can't remember names for shit - doesn't matter how hard I try. There are several mental exercises you can do that actually help your memory. There is this mini game in Luminosity (http://www.lumosity.com/) where you play a server and you have to remember the customers names and what they ordered... it starts off slow and builds up. After doing this for a few weeks you will notice a difference and has helped me tremendously when I go to meetings/conferences, etc...
No. I had the doctor wean me off and have self-managed using http://www.lumosity.com/ since. Honestly I have no idea how I would be doing if I didn't immediately start using that website and the app they have.
HAI! Also 37! Diagnosed at 32 with ADHD-Combined, Dysgraphia, and a crapload of Complex-PTSD and its friend Agoraphobia. In the beginning I couldn't tell the C-PTSD apart from the ADHD, but with the PTSD symptoms calming down it's getting easier.
I couldn't do college - it takes me 5 times as long to write things as other people i.e. I've been tweaking this post for three days. I'm fortunate in that I can teach myself the computer things and get the jobs for them. I do fine in jobs that involve human interaction, are challenging technically, and super fast paced or laboriously meticulous.
I can't do stimulants. 3 days on Ritilan and I have to sleep 3 days to recover. Adderall had this come down thing... Straterra didn't do jack. So I'm onto other methods.
I did Lumosity for a year, 4 years ago, and ohmygod it helped my memory so very much. It also helped with impulse control - they have this horrible horrible game called Color Match where you have to NOT CLICK on things and IT'S SO HARD OMG! But it taught me pause, taught me how to keep my mouth shut. And nowadays if I forget to put something on the grocery list I can stand in the aisle and it COMES to me.
I switched to /r/keto, plus take 2000mg of EPA fish oil per day and 2000mg of L-Tyrosine.
- /r/xxketo helps with my anxiety/agoraphobia/C-PTSD and the noise in my brain. My brain is much quieter and it's easier to think, plan, and make choices.
- The fish oil helps with memory, concentration, and linear thinking. If I run out of fish oil it takes 3 days my brain to turn to mud - slow, unfocused, scatter brained, can't remember what I was doing. Ugh! The worst!
- The L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that builds dopamine, which is focus/chosen attention.
I don't have many coping mechanisms either, come to think about it I'd like to brainstorm some. Maybe I can give you some ideas.
Watching videos about Mindfullness and Rewiring the brain (taking notes) Meditation- becoming a boss at it Being an avid movie watcher Reading Shit on internet about a craft you might want to get good at Habitually cooking good food/ excercising the body you know get a job, get out more keep taking notes about your life and how can you improve it, no stress tho Playing internet games (runescape, world of warcraft)
Smoke cigs drink coffee Art (Drawing getting good at writing short stories or somethin) http://www.ted.com/ - these guys have awesome life videos
http://www.lumosity.com/app/v4/dashboard Lumosity a good brain game website
doing outside shit.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-brain-training-apps,review-2267.html
The last time I used it was when I still had an iPhone 3G(S?). Totally forgot about it until I read this. I didn't use it long enough to notice a difference and it's been years. Their site still works so I'm guessing people still use it. Anyone with long-term first hand experience?
Edit - Maybe check that out? I tried Elevate just now, and it's a LOT better than lumosity. Hard to say how much either will help, but at least Elevate will help practice reading/writing skills.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to post all that, I appreciate it.
I've just spent the last couple of hours googling early Dementia and to me it looks like they don't have it.
According to this: https://www.alz.org/national/documents/checklist_10signs.pdf (pdf warning) they would only have 1 and 7 from the list of the 10 signs i.e.:
(1). Memory loss that disrupts daily life
(7). Misplacing things
There's an argument that could be made for (8). Decreased or poor judgment, with regards to this broker but that's pretty subjective.
I plugged in what their answers would be to this test: http://gpcog.com.au/index.php and the results also said there wasn't a problem.
They've always been a bit absent minded (as have I) e.g. 'losing' their keys when they're actually in their hand (I remember laughing at them about this when I was a kid).
The last 6 months to a year have definitely been worse though, every time I see them (once a week) the conversation is started with how they forgot something. There's also been a couple of car crashes in the last few years (when previously there was just one in their whole life), and falls (one quite serious which required an operation).
They often joke about the memory loss being due to Alzheimer's but I can see there is some real concern there. They've been doing the Luminosity 'brain training' app on the PC for the past year or so for this very reason but recently have stopped due to not having enough time (in general) and 'not getting things done'.
I still I need to talk to my sister about this.
edit: Forgot to say they are almost 80.
Clickyclacky is right on the money; a few years back people thought brains were fixed after puberty but now we know that the brain is "elastic" and that it will, move connections; strengthen connections; weaken and eliminate connections; depending on what stimulation it receives repeatedly over time. So you may have some catching up to do, but you can do it!! Stay strong.
And if anyone needs some things to distract and strengthen their brains; your post made me think of these guys. http://www.lumosity.com
Actually there are things that you can do for your memory. There are supplements you can take that help with memory, like Gingko Biloba and Bacopa Monnieri. Try taking those, as well as meditating and doing brain exercises (like those found on Lumosity, esp. memory related ones) every day. And make sure you're eating healthy and exercising on top of that to make sure your body can do the rest. I've been doing this for only a few months so far and I'm already noticing results.
Hey, OP,
I saw this when I was on mobile yesterday and wanted to respond, but I couldn't type it out on mobile.
IMO, urllib is kind of annoying to work with, requests makes things a lot easier to deal with overall.
Here's your code translated to requests:
import json, requests from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
authentication_url = 'https://www.lumosity.com/authentication' history_url = "http://www.lumosity.com/app/v4/training_history"
def login(username, password):
# Create session object to persist cookies/headers/easily POST data s = requests.Session()
# Update session headers with your user-agent s.headers.update({'User-Agent':'Lumosity'})
# Post the username/password, check the session code (200 is OK, anything else is something you need to write code to handle. r = s.post(authentication_url, data={ 'user[login]': username, 'user[password]': password}) if r.status_code == 200: return s else: return false
def parse_training_history(session): training_history = s.get(history_url) soup = BeautifulSoup(training_history.content) dates = soup.findAll('div',{'class':'calendar-week-day play'}) for date in dates: listofdates.append(date['data-date']) print date['data-date']
if name == "main": s = login("username","password") if s: get_training_history(s)
I didn't do the parsing, as I don't know what you're trying to parse out and it was more to show you how much easier requests are to use.
The session object will help you out a ton by persisting cookies/headers through requests. It's really a nice and simple way to handle cookies and POSTing data.
Hmm, good point on Luminosity. The only sonewhat compelling study I found in their research section showed that scores improved on test that's distinct from actually performance in Luminosity training exercise ( http://www.lumosity.com/hcp/research/completed/investigating-lumosity-s-brain-performance-test-bpt).
However, none of the studies include a control group where the subjects undergo a different kind of brain training. In essence, Luminosity is better than nothing at all (duh).
But, it might be interesting to try the BPT before and after nootropic use, to see how the test scores differ.
How did I get through this recovery? Well, I worked my ass off. For 4 months (until I returned to school), I was spent an hour doing math, 15ish minutes doing lumosity, an hour working out, 15 minutes of balance, half an hour writing plus the 45min-3 hours of therapy.
People to guide me through this recovery? My parents would say that they were there for me, as would be then-girlfriend. While I recognized that, it was still hard. I felt like everyone around me was criticizing me and putting me down.
Living after this injury is frustrating. I wouldn't ever go through this process again. Perhaps the worst aspect is stuff that feels like is out of your control. No, scratch that. Maybe feeling that this injury has fundamentally changed you? Either way, it's incredibly frustrating.
I'm not sure why you haven't read yet, but if you're anything like my you need a constant reminder that you actually need to do something. So what do I do to fix that? Well since I surf the internet a lot I figured it would be beneficial to change my homepages to things that remind me that I need to do something. My homepages are:
http://www.fortyninedays.com/ http://www.lumosity.com/ http://medivate.com/timer/
I have no idea what it could be, but if you're out of employment or education you're not giving your brain a 'workout' so to speak. There is apps like luminosity that can help increase certain skills overtime.
Also, stuff like sudoku and crosswords can help!
Hello again Niedu. Algodoo is also available for Windows, just so you know.
http://www.algodoo.com/download/Algodoo_2_1_0-Win32.exe
I misread your post btw, so assumed your son is 12 years old.. so maybe these games would be better in a couple of years. I trust you to judge that better than I.
Even more:
Dragonbox is an algebra game. It seems to be pricey, but you decide. Both for tablets and PCs There seems to be a lot of 'learning games' for iPad, so all I can recommend is to google for it, there should be some nice lists.
Lumocity also came to my mind. It is a suite of brain stimulating games. I've subscribed to them once (montly fee) and felt more clear-minded in that period. It's suitable for kids too, and there's a free version.
Their IQ next to their post or comment in a tag-like fashion. It would eliminate the pseudo-intellectualism and replace it with actual intellectual thoughts. It would improve content overall and encourage self-betterment.
I was about 6. The school I went to tested everyone in kindergarten. At the time and growing up, I thought it was cool, just because I was the only one I knew who had it, and it sort of separated me. I also liked it because of this. I've been explaining "What I see" to people for years, and vice-versa.
It is a great site where you play brain games that help increase your cognitive skills. It keeps track of your score as BPI (Brain Performance Index) in the categories of Speed, Memory, Attention, Flexibility, and Problem Solving. It also tells you how you compare to other people in your age group.
There is a monthly or yearly fee, but it is definitely worth it. I have noticed significant benefits after only a few months and the games are fun.
No worries! My friend and I are on this life mission to just become better people. Physically, mentally and socially. It's a lot of fun and I've weeded out a lot of stuff that I now consider a waste of time (I don't play video games all my waking hours between work and sleep anymore, just a couple)
Lumosity is a site that presents a bunch of little games that increase your mental performance by having you complete a daily training game set.
The games are (overall) incredibly fun and I've actually noticed a difference in my awareness and memory as well as quickness when it comes to basic math. I'm a chef and would constantly go into the walkin fridge only to forget why I went in and have to return to what I was doing before I remembered. After doing the games for a month (and I noticed the change within a week or so) I never have those moments anymore. And I know this sounds like an advertisement for the site or something, but I can't recommend it enough.
But back to the main point, I'd really like to spark interest in this subreddit back up, get more people into the growth and development mindset. Selfishly I'd also really like to meet (if you count online as meeting) some people with like minded goals.
Hopefully that can all happen!
I use an awesome-looking agenda (it has a dragon on it!) for my calendar. As much of a tech-geek as I am, using Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook Calendar was never as easy, convenient, or efficient as having a physical agenda to write in.
My memory has improved lately but it still epic fails quite often. Playing memory games at Lumosity always helps.
Hmm...I think I know what you mean by "hump", but to me it's a lifestyle choice. I didn't always eat incredibly healthy. In High School I ate plenty of cafeteria food, fast food, and I drank soda often. After High School I became incredibly focused on the optimization of the body. Since then I've started physically training myself via weight lifting, martial arts, yoga, parkour, rock climbing, swimming, and other physically intense activities. I also focus on mental training and I play games at Lumosity, meditate, read a lot of books on how the mind works, etc.
When I think about my life as a giant picture, I try to make that picture as 'perfect' as possible while fully acknowledging that perfection of that caliber is impossible. I still reach towards that goal of perfection, though, and this ends up bringing me much farther than I would have normally gone. I apply this concept to everything I do in my life, from business to health, traveling and learning.
It may have started with a "hump" but eventually became a mountain that I wish to see the top of, even if it just helps me see that there's a higher mountain on the other side that I must also climb.