You've seen the adverts - play this computer game every day and watch your brain power grow exponentially until you're more intelligent than Einstein was. Or something like that - they can't really promise exact results otherwise every dunce in the world would be suing the manufacturer. But, that said, is it really possible to increase your brain power?

In theory, yes, no question. The brain is like every other part of our body, the more it is used the better and more efficient it gets.

But in practice it's not quite as clear cut.

Humans are definitely getting more intelligent. Studies have shown that the average person's IQ has increased over the last century or so. So we're definitely more intelligent than our ancestors. Partly from necessity. Most people in the western world can read and write whereas a few centuries ago this was reserved for just a handful of the population.

But I digress...

The question we were asking was "is it really possible to increase our brain power by playing games?"

If you've ever done a crossword or Sudoku puzzle on a regular basis, you already know the answer to this. Over time, you get more adept at solving the puzzles. Either that or you swear that they will never darken your life again - games like Sukdou tend to bring out that kind of polarity response.

Playing computer based games will likely improve your brain's reaction speed. Whether that means you remember things faster or better you'd need to test. But the general consensus is that these game based approaches work to at least some degree. Which means if it gives you the edge at work, or anywhere else for that matter, it's got to be worth doing.