Do Brain Training Apps Actually Work? What the Evidence Says

The short answer

Brain training apps reliably make you better at the games in the app. The evidence that this improves your memory, focus or thinking in everyday life is much weaker, and scientists still argue about it. There is one notable exception: a specific kind of speed training studied over 20 years. We cover it below, along with why it doesn’t mean every brain game works.

We make a brain games app, Memo, so we have a reason to want the answer to be “yes.” That’s exactly why we’ve written this page carefully, with sources you can check.

Near transfer vs far transfer

Researchers split the question in two:

• Near transfer: does practicing a memory game make you better at that game, or a very similar one? Almost always, yes.
• Far transfer: does it make you better at different things, like remembering names, concentrating at work, school grades or staying sharp as you age? This is what the ads usually imply, and it’s where the evidence gets thin.

The big studies, in order

2010: 11,430 people, no transfer

Adrian Owen and colleagues ran a six-week online experiment with viewers of the BBC science show “Bang Goes the Theory.” 11,430 people trained on reasoning, memory, planning and attention tasks. They improved on every task they trained, but found no transfer to untrained tasks, even closely related ones (Nature, 2010).

2014: dueling open letters

In October 2014 the Stanford Center on Longevity and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development published a statement signed by about 70 psychologists and neuroscientists. It said the evidence doesn’t support claims that brain games improve everyday cognition or prevent decline (Stanford Center on Longevity). Two months later, 133 scientists and therapists replied on Cognitive Training Data. They agreed that marketing claims are often exaggerated, but argued that dozens of controlled trials show real benefits from specific types of training. Both letters agreed on one thing: the ads were ahead of the science.

2016: the FTC and Lumosity

In January 2016, Lumosity’s maker paid $2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges. The FTC said Lumosity had claimed, without adequate evidence, that its games could improve performance at work and school, and delay decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s. A $50 million judgment was suspended (FTC). It’s the clearest signal of where the line is for what a brain app can claim.

2016: the most thorough review

Daniel Simons and six colleagues reviewed more than 130 studies, including those cited by brain-game companies. Their conclusion: people improve on trained tasks, less on closely related tasks, and there is very little evidence of improvement on distant tasks or in everyday life. Many studies also had design problems (Psychological Science in the Public Interest).

2015–2016: working memory and “raising IQ”

Dual n-back training became famous for supposedly boosting intelligence. A 2015 meta-analysis found a small effect on fluid intelligence tests. When Monica Melby-Lervåg and Charles Hulme re-analyzed it, accounting for differences at the start, the effect roughly halved, and it lost significance in studies with active control groups. Their broader 2016 meta-analysis of 87 publications found no convincing evidence that working memory training improves intelligence, reading or arithmetic (Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2016).

2026: the ACTIVE trial at 20 years

ACTIVE is the most important study in this field. From 1998 it enrolled about 2,800 adults aged 65 and over. Groups received several weeks of training in memory, reasoning or speed of processing, and some got booster sessions later. In February 2026, researchers linked participants to Medicare records through 2019. Those who did speed training with boosters were about 25% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the control group. The memory and reasoning groups showed no significant difference (UF Health).

It’s a striking result. Read it carefully, though:

• It was one specific visual speed task, done in supervised sessions, not a variety of games.
• Two of the three training types showed no effect on dementia diagnoses.
• It measured diagnoses in insurance claims, which isn’t the same as measuring the disease itself.
• It comes from a single trial, so it needs confirming in others.

BrainHQ sells a version of that speed training, which is why we name it the pick for research-minded users in our best brain training apps guide.

2025: a prescription brain game for ADHD

In December 2025 the FDA cleared LumosityRx, a prescription app for adults aged 22–55 with ADHD. It uses 13 games and was tested in a sham-controlled trial of more than 500 people, where it improved scores on a computerized attention test (Patient Care). It’s meant to be one part of treatment, not a standalone cure, and the clearance applies to that prescription product only, not to consumer brain apps.

So what can you honestly expect?

• Higher scores in the games you play, usually fast at first, then leveling off.
• A focus ritual. A few minutes of concentrated play is a decent way to switch on in the morning or switch off from scrolling.
• A small daily habit you can keep. That has value on its own.
• Not: a higher IQ, protection from dementia, a treatment for ADHD or anxiety, or better grades or job performance on its own.

How to use brain apps well

• Pick games you enjoy. The best app is the one you actually open.
• Keep it short. Five to fifteen minutes a day.
• Compare yourself to yourself. Your trend means more than any “brain score.”
• Do the things with better evidence too. The Stanford statement pointed to healthy, engaged lifestyles: physical activity, sleep, social contact, and learning genuinely new skills.
• Be skeptical of big promises, especially about dementia, ADHD or IQ.

Where Memo stands

Memo makes no claims beyond what the evidence supports. It’s eight short games: the Chimp Test, a Stroop test, word recall, card matching, mental math, geometry, breathing and a Do Nothing timer. Together they take about five minutes a day. The Progress tab compares your score with your own first try. That’s near transfer by definition: it shows you getting better at Memo, nothing more. If you want the app with the most research behind it, choose BrainHQ. If you want a short, enjoyable daily habit, we think Memo is a good one. You can try every game free in the browser first.