New York, NY (PRWEB) April 09, 2013
CogniFit, a leading developer of scientific brain training and online brain fitness, announces the publication of a new peer-reviewed article in the journal PLOS ONE. The article “Cognitive Training Improves Sleep Quality and Cognitive Function among Older Adults with Insomnia” demonstrates how CogniFit computerized cognitive training could replace medical treatment in a population of older adults diagnosed with insomnia.
The study investigated a group of older adults who used cognitive training for 20 minutes, three times a week, for a period of two months against a control group that carried out reading, writing and drawing tasks. Sleep duration increased and the number of awakenings during the night decreased in the group that engaged in cognitive training. No such improvements were observed in the control group. In addition, the older adults who engaged in brain training improved significantly in important cognitive functions, whereas the control group did not. Another significant finding was that the more cognitive functions improved for an individual, the more the sleep quality improved. The published study can be found here.
The study was conducted at the Max Stern Academic College in Israel by insomnia researcher Prof. Iris Haimov, Head of the Biopsychological center and Dr. Evelyn Shatil, Chief Scientist at CogniFit.
Dr. Evelyn Shatil, co-author of the research and Chief Scientist at CogniFit comments: "This is the first time ever that cognitive training is directly and explicitly linked to significant improvements in sleep quality. This study heralds a new era for the use of cognitive training as an enjoyable and rewarding new drug-free treatment for insomnia. The important added value for this age group is that cognitive function (and not only sleep) increases. Based on what we have learnt in this new study, CogniFit is an effective and affordable cognitive training solution to train people suffering from insomnia."
CogniFit helps users to learn and remember new cognitive information while playing brain games. It is well known that new information learnt during daytime requires sleep in order to consolidate (be assimilated by the brain). The researchers hypothesized that the newly information, learnt during the day through cognitive training, would require longer and uninterrupted sleep during the night for its consolidation and that on the nights following the training, the older adults would fall asleep sooner and sleep for a longer time period. This is exactly what happened during the study.
Countries around the world are facing a rapid increase in over-medication. Health-related software are becoming an interesting alternative solution to provide individuals with a more natural treatment such as insomnia.
CogniFit is a leading developer of online brain fitness and brain training programs.
Founded in 1999, CogniFit has developed a unique and patented technology that allows consumers to assess and train their cognitive skills and abilities to improve their quality of life. CogniFit is headquartered in New York City with branches in Europe.
The CogniFit brain fitness platform offers a number of applications covering a large range of important cognitive domains such as concentration, memory and attention.
The platform is currently available in more than 55 countries and in 10 different languages including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Brazilian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic and Japanese. The programs are also available on mobile.
For additional information or interviews inquiries, contact the PR department at media(at)cognifit(dot)com