Can Brain Training Help Working Memory? 

Maybe you’re mad at yourself for misplacing items or leaving things behind. Maybe you’re frustrated when a big project goes sideways. When you want to improve your working memory, brain training can help you target this cognitive skill. But what is working memory, anyway? 

Working memory is sometimes confused with short-term memory, but these two really are different processes.  

• Short-term memory allows you to store information for a short period of time. 
• Working memory accesses and uses your short-term memories, so you can make decisions, react, or problem-solve.
• Long-term memory converts short-term memories into indefinitely held knowledge or information. 

Working memory is an enormously complex process that we rely on constantly, from day to night. Research shows that working memory isn’t static: it’s affected by many factors and evolves as we age. It’s something we need—and something that can be improved with the proper methods.

Let’s talk about working memory, how it affects us, and where brain training can help. 

How Working Memory Plays A Role In Our Lives 

3 Ways We Rely on Working Memory 

Working memory is often described as your mental workspace, your virtual assistant, or similar descriptions. To describe it simply, it’s how we use the information in our heads. 

Unsurprisingly, working memory plays a vital and highly complicated role in our lives. It informs how we behave, how we make decisions, and how we process the world around us. 

Here are three ways we use our working memory: 

1. To retrieve key details.
   Working memory sorts and filters out the thousands of irrelevant details and stimuli you process every day, while hanging onto key details. What items you need from the store, where you put your phone, or what tasks you have to complete—working memory allows you to access all this information. 
   
2. To plan effectively.
   Planning a small or large project—a school assignment, an event, or complex work task—always involves your working memory. This brain function helps you to break goals down into actionable tasks, manage and keep track of time, and stay alert as you complete each item. 
   
3. To solve problems.
   Solving problems is an incredibly complicated task that requires mental agility and a strong working memory. You must pay attention to micro-details and clues around you, consider different aspects of the problem, reject unworkable solutions, and so much more. All of this involves your working memory. 

6 Symptoms of Poor Working Memory 

So, how do you know when you or your learner are facing issues with working memory? Here are some common indications that working memory is faltering:  

1. You often forget one or more steps when completing a multi-step task.
2. You have to re-read text or double-check numbers in data entry.  
3. You misplace items constantly.
4. You’re frequently late even though you try not to be. 
5. You forget urgent tasks until much later. 
6. You frequently need to repeat things before you remember them. 

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it gives you an idea of common issues with working memory. If these problems sound familiar, you may want to discuss them with a doctor. It’s also a good time to consider brain training. 

Brain Training and Your Working Memory 

While problems with working memory can be enormously frustrating, your mind is also capable of extraordinary change. Working memory is a cognitive skill that can be targeted, exercised, and improved over time. 

That’s where brain training comes in. We can assess your working memory, as well as skills like processing speed and focus, which are closely associated with working memory.  

Based on the results of an in-depth evaluation, we’ll create a customized training plan to target your memory skills. Through intense, challenging exercises and drills, you can practice using your working memory. 

As you improve your working memory, you can improve the way you think, learn, read, and remember! 

A Unique Brain Training Plan for Every Client  

Brain training is a great way for kids, teens, and adults to strengthen cognitive skills! With a custom training plan and dedicated trainer for each student, we help learners tap into their unique abilities.  

Improve the way you think, learn, and remember with one-on-one brain training. To discuss training options for all ages, you can contact LearningRx at 866-BRAIN-01 or visit us online.