Mental Fitness: A New Cognitive Design Challenge
The Psychiatric News recently published an interesting article, Brain Training Maybe the Next Fitness Craze. It has an important message for cognitive designers – there is a significant and growing market for evidence-based designs that improve the cognitive performance of health people.
“The market for brain-fitness products and interventions amounted to about $265 million in 2008; by 2015, the sales figure is projected at $1 billion to $4 billion, according to William Reichman, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and president and CEO of Baycrest, an academic health center at the university that focuses on aging issues.”
Although avoiding or minimizing age-related cognitive decline is a keen focus now there is definite demand for brain boosting at all ages.
Consumers of all ages want to boost their cognitive abilities and prevent age-related decline. Schools want to know whether cognitive training can enhance children’s learning ability while controlling attention and behavioral problems. Corporations, sports teams, and the military are interested in the potential of increasing the cognitive performance of their employees.
But what options do designers have? There is an enormous array of claims and approaches in brain training and the empirical evidence is just starting to emerge.
I’ve started systematic research into this issue in January. I am sharing sources and insights on a new blog, YourNextBrain! I invite you to visit, browse and contribute resources and observations of your own.
