A brain-training game that takes less than 2 hours a week can reduce your risk of developing dementia by 25%, study finds

"A groundbreaking new study suggests you may be able to train your brain to stay healthier as you age - but you have to pick the right game. The study results stunned neurologist Marilyn Albert, one of the researchers who analyzed the data. "It's an astonishing result," Albert, who directs the division of cognitive neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told Business Insider. "It's absolutely made me think that I have to get online and do the training.""

"Though the study was independent and academic, the winning brain- training is available online through a company that Albert is not affiliated with, called Posit Science. The company's Brain HQ website and app offers more than two dozen cognitive games, but only one of them was included in this study, and it was the only game in the study that had a measurable effect on a person's long-term dementia risk."

"During the study, participants were randomly divided into four groups: one control group with no training, and three active groups that each tried one particular game that researchers thought might help improve cognition as people age, based on earlier research. The games included: A memory game, which is not commercially available A problem-solving and reasoning game, also not commercially available, and The winning speed training game, which is called "Double Decision""

The ACTIV trial, funded by the US National Institutes of Health, enrolled 2,000 adults aged 65 and older across the US and followed them for 20 years. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group or to one of three cognitive-training groups: a memory game, a problem-solving and reasoning game, or a speed-training game called "Double Decision." Only participants who did the speed-training game showed a long-term reduction in dementia incidence of about 25%. Memory and reasoning training did not produce comparable long-term benefits. The mechanism is unclear, though speed training may preserve or enhance neural connectivity. The speed-training game is available on Posit Science's Brain HQ.

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