A bit of history
In the 2000s and 2010s, brain training apps became a huge market. Ads promised higher intelligence, protection from age-related decline and better grades. In 2014 a group of scientists convened by the Stanford Center on Longevity and the Max Planck Institute published an open statement saying such claims were often exaggerated. Another group of researchers replied that some kinds of cognitive training do show effects. The debate continues.
In 2016 the US Federal Trade Commission took action against the maker of Lumosity, which agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges that it advertised benefits for age-related memory decline and school performance without sufficient evidence. The case shows clearly where the line for honest claims lies.
Near and far transfer
The key idea in this research is transfer: does anything improve beyond the trained task itself?
- The trained task. This one is clear: performance goes up. Play the Schulte table for a week and you will complete it faster.
- Near transfer — improvement on similar tasks. For example, after training visual search you find objects faster in a different but similar game. There is evidence for this, though the effects are smaller.
- Far transfer — improvement on dissimilar tasks and in life generally: intelligence, grades, work. This is what aggressive ads promised, and it is where the evidence is weakest.
A large 2016 review by Daniel Simons and colleagues concluded that there is extensive evidence for improvement on trained tasks, less for closely related tasks and little for distantly related tasks or everyday cognitive performance.
Where the results look more interesting
The best-known study is ACTIVE, which involved nearly three thousand older adults. They trained memory, reasoning or speed of processing. Gains in the trained abilities lasted for years, and some analyses linked speed-of-processing training with better everyday functioning and even a lower risk of dementia ten years later. These findings are debated and need confirmation, but they show that not all cognitive training is equally useful or useless.
The story of n-back is similar: a high-profile 2008 study reported gains in fluid intelligence, but later meta-analyses found the effect on intelligence to be weak or absent, while performance on the task itself improves reliably.
What definitely helps your brain
If your goal is a healthy brain for years to come, games are just one small piece. The Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, in its 2024 update, identified 14 modifiable risk factors associated with around 45% of dementia cases. They include:
- physical activity;
- education and mental activity throughout life;
- social connection — loneliness and isolation raise the risk;
- correcting hearing and vision loss;
- managing blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, not smoking, drinking in moderation;
- treating depression.
Sleep deserves its own mention: it matters for memory, attention and mood alike.
So why Cabe?
We don’t promise the app will raise your IQ or prevent disease. We offer something else:
- An active replacement for the feed. If you solve a puzzle in a queue instead of watching short videos, your brain is working rather than just consuming. That changes a habit, not just a game score.
- Variety. More than a hundred games for reaction, attention, memory, math and language — rather than one task you quickly get used to. New tasks demand more engagement.
- Measurable progress. Statistics show real numbers, not promises. That keeps you motivated.
- Healthy habits around the games. Breathing, sleep, journals, a habit tracker and workouts — the things research links to brain health more strongly than any game.
Play Cabe because it is fun, good for your attention and better than an endless feed. But don’t forget sleep, movement and people — without them no training works at full strength.