A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and "brain
training" reflects a growing interest in natural,
non-drug-based interventions to keep our brains sharp as we
age. This interest is very timely, given the aging
population, increasing Alzheimer's rates, and soaring
health care costs that place more emphasis than ever on
prevention and changing lifestyle.
This past Tuesday, the MIT Club of Northern California, the
American Society on Aging, and SmartSilvers sponsored an
event on The Emerging Brain Fitness Software Market:
Building Better Brains to explore the realities and myths
of this growing field. Before the panel, I had the chance
to present an overview of the state of the Brain Fitness
Software Market.
Why are we talking about this field at all? Well, for one,
an increasing number of companies are achieving significant
commercial success in packaging "brain exercise". An
example is the line of Nintendo games, such as Brain Age
and Brain Training, that have shipped over 15 million units
worldwide despite limited scientific support, since 2005.
What is less visible is that a number of companies and
scientists are partnering to bring products to market with
a more solid clinical validation. We estimate the US
market was $225m in 2007 (growing from $100 in 2005).
Wheras K12 Education used to be the major segment, adult
consumers are responsible for most of that growth: we
estimate the consumer segment grew from a few million in
2005 to $80 m in 2007.
Who is buying these products? Yes, of course, many adults
over 50 who want to protect their memory are among the
pioneers. 78 million baby boomers are eager to try new
approaches. A growing number of retirement communities and
nursing homes are offering programs to their residents to
expand their usual fitness and social activities. And we
can't forget about K12 education: certain brain fitness
software packages have shown they can help kids who have
dyslexia and related difficulties.
Is there science behind these claims? Do these products
work? It depends on how we define "work". If "working"
means quantifiable short-term improvements after a number
of weeks of systematic "brain training" to improve specific
cognitive skills, then the answer is that a number of
programs do seem to work. If , on the other hand, "working"
means measurable long-term benefits, such as better overall
brain health as we age, or lower incidence of Alzheimer's
symptoms, the answer is that circumstantial evidence
suggests they may, but it is still too early to tell.
Are there any public policy implications? We certainly
believe that there are. The Center for Disease Control
recently partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to
develop a comprehensive Cognitive Health roadmap to better
guide research efforts and improve public education on the
lifestyle habits that every proud owner of a brain could
benefit from following. Given the high rates of traumatic
brain injuries and stress disorders found in a large number
of the men and women coming home from the Iraq war, the
military is investing heavily in research to help identify
problems to develop tools to solve them, and we expect that
research will translate into wider health applications. No
presidential candidate, to our knowledge, has directly
addressed his or her priorities in the cognitive health
realm but, given the growing importance and economic impact
of brain-related disorders, we expect that to happen soon.
What are some trends that executives and investors should
be looking at to understand this growing market? Let me
make a few predictions:
1) An increased emphasis on Brain Maintenance, from
retirement communities to gyms and health clubs. Will
health clubs one day offer brain fitness programs, and
perhaps "brain coaches"? We think so.
2) Better and more widely available assessments of
cognitive function will enable of all us to establish an
objective baseline of how our minds are evolving, identify
priorities for "workouts" and lifestyle interventions, and
help us measure progress. Science-fiction? Not really.
there are already pretty good tests used in clinical and
medical environments, the challenge will be to refine and
package those assessments in a consumer-friendly way.
3) We will see more and better computer-based tools, each
of which may be more appropriate to work on specific
priorities. Just as we find a variety of machines in health
clubs today, in the future we can expect different programs
tailored to train specific cognitive skills.
4) More non-computer based tools will also provide much
value. There is more and more research on how meditation
and cognitive therapy, to mention 2 examples, can be very
effective in literally re-wiring parts of the brain.
5) Insurance Companies will introduce incentives for member
who want to follow brain fitness programs. Perhaps even
companies will offer such programs to employees to attract
and retain mature workers who want access to the best and
the latest innovations to keep their minds sharp.
Now, this being a pretty new field, many questions remain
open. For example, how will consumers and institutions
receive quality information and education to navigate
through the emerging research and the overwhelming number
of new programs, separating reality from hype?
In summary, what were the main take-aways from the event?
1. Research indicates that a number of cognitive abilities
(attention, memory...) can be assessed and trained
2. An emerging market is starting to develop-growing from
an estimated $100m in 2005 to $225m in 2007, in the US
alone-, and is poised to keep growing at significant rates.
3. Many companies are currently selling products direct to
consumers (as well as through institutions) with sometimes
unclear claims - this threatens to confuse consumers and
present a major obstacle to the growth and credibility of
the sector.
If you are interested in this rapidly growing field, please
stay tuned! There are fascinating research reports every
month.
----------------------------------------------------
Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which will release the report "The State
of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008" on March 4th.
SharpBrains has been recognized by Scientific American
Mind, Newsweek, Forbes. Alvaro holds MA in Education and
MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science of
Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute.
You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog
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