Exciting New Research Shows Value of Cognitive Training
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, brain training, DriveSharp, Senior safety and mobility on Tuesday, January 28, 2014
But did you know that there’s a proven way to train your brain and “earn" the extra milliseconds that you might need to avoid a bad crash? Not only that, but new federally-sponsored research has found significant long-term benefits of the cognitive exercises that help you do so!
Since 2009, the AAA Foundation has partnered with Posit Science, a leading developer of brain training software, to promote the DriveSharp program, which works by changing your brain’s ability to process what it sees. DriveSharp is not a driving simulation or education program; instead, you engage with interactive and challenging computer-based exercises that “re-train” the brain to process visual information faster and improve at tasks that require divided attention.
Taken together, we already knew that these benefits have been clinically shown to reduce stopping distance by up to 22 feet at 55 mph, improve your useful field of view by up to 200 percent, and, most remarkably, cut your risk of a crash by up to 50 percent. Earlier this month, however, new research was released which also points to significant long-term benefits of cognitive training with the core exercise of DriveSharp.
The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest study of cognitive training ever conducted, and the first to measure long-term effects. Involving nearly 3,000 participants with an average age of 74 at the outset, the study found that improvements in processing speed persisted 10 years after just 10 hours of training with one of the two exercises in DriveSharp.
With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day from now until 2030, senior safety and mobility is a critical issue for communities throughout the country. And at the AAA Foundation, one of our core beliefs is that safe mobility is a right for all. We are therefore very excited to see further evidence that DriveSharp can help older Americans more safely exercise the privilege of driving, and maintain independence.
Of course, even a cognitively-trained driver cannot be a safe one if he or she is not paying attention to the road. So remember: obey the speed limit, and keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on the driving task at all times. This, coupled with training, will help keep you and those around you as safe as possible out on the roads.
To learn more, visit www.drivesharpnow.com.
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