This spooky season, we’re not just talking about ghosts and goblins, we’re talking about the tricks your brain can play on you! Brain-training expert Dr. Gina Cruz joined us to show how to outsmart those mental misfires and become scary smart.
Dr. Cruz explained that while our brains are powerful, they’re not perfect. They play little tricks on us all the time. The good news? Just like we can train our muscles, we can train our brains to stay focused, remember more, and think faster.
To demonstrate, she shared three Halloween-themed brain challenges:
Memory Trick – “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” Shelly was given 10 seconds to memorize items on a tray before it was covered. This tested her working memory, the ability to hold and use information in real time. It’s a skill critical for reading comprehension, following directions, and learning math. At home, games like Simon or memory recall can help strengthen this skill.
Focus Trick – The Stroop Test Shelly was asked to name the color of the ink used in words on a screen, not the word itself. It was harder than it looked! This challenge tested divided attention and cognitive control, essential for managing distractions and staying focused in class. Quick focus games like this can be done at home in just a minute a day.
Optical Illusion Trick – Seeing Isn’t Always Believing Dr. Cruz showed spinning designs that created the illusion of a single image. This demonstrated how our brains make fast judgments, which can lead to misreading or misunderstanding. Slowing down and asking “What makes you think that?” helps activate reasoning and catch mistakes.
These fun challenges highlight how trainable the brain really is. At LearningRx, Dr. Cruz and her team help kids, teens, and adults strengthen memory, attention, processing speed, and reasoning through personalized brain training.
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