Brain HQ is an online platform and app with dozens of exercises, all targeting different brain systems. With over 140 peer reviewed published papers, Brain HQ is the only platform clinically proven to make quantifiable improvements to brain function. Online, athletes can sign into their personalized testing – with games to train memory, speed of processing, visual acuity, and so on. We have partnered with brain HQ to include some of their tests in our Witty SEM system – and we encourage all of our athletes to expand their mental horizons with daily practice of Brain HQ exercises for at least 20 minutes a day.

This is the same exercise as our first Assessment – improvements from this test come from practicing the test. True agility trains the athlete in a series of decision-based movements that require higher and higher decision-making abilities. This variation places an athlete in the middle of a 10-foot x 10-foot box with reactive based lights at each corner. Level 1 is to find 10 green lights while the others are off (a single decision) and record the time. Level 2 is the same physical test as Level 1, but with more cognitive demand placed on the athlete. Now a double-decision, the athlete must find 10 green 3’s amongst other green lights, colors, numbers, and letters. By recording and comparing the times it takes the athlete to complete both levels, we can see the effect of cognitive processing on their performance.

The athlete performs the same tests as Level 1, but now with the lights arranged linearly in front of them. Place the 4 lights at a 12-foot distance from the athlete, where now the athlete back peddles to the start point after each light is captured. As with Level 1, record and compare the times for the two levels. As the athlete trains and improves, the time between the two levels will decrease.

Practice throwing a ball in the air and catching it. Increase the difficulty by adding more balls. In doing so, the athlete hones their brain's visual, tactile and hand-eye coordinative responses. Practicing skills that make good, fast use of sensations from listening, vision and touch have widespread positive impact across the brain.

This may seem simple, but if you're right-handed, use you left hand for some daily activities, and vice versa. By switching hands, we strengthen our non-dominant brain pathways. The athlete can start with brushing their teeth, practicing until they have perfected it. Then, they can scale up to more complex tasks, such as eating. This is an example of taking something you know, and putting it in a new and demanding context. Doing such activities can drive plasticity of the brain on a large scale, as millions of neurons adjust to establish better control of your non-dominant hand.

Again, here we are using the same light system from the agility trainings, practicing the tests becomes the training. Arrange Witty Semaphores in a linear fashion roughly two feet from the athlete to challenge them in various cognitive trainings known as Double Decision, Hawk Eye, and Eye for Detail. These tests were created by world-renowned Dr. Michael Merzenich (Brain HQ co-founder) and his team, and are all supported in published papers. These tests help improve cognitive abilities in processing speed, reaction time, useful field of view, and multiple-object tracking among other operations. An athlete can get an objective score for each of the tests, which reflects their speed of processing for the given test. This number can be base-lined to ensure improvement over time.

Repeating what we talked about in Ground School, balance is the critical component of life. Balance has been proven to be directly related to brain health, and is just as essential as mental acuity for improving overall brain function. Balance is affected by three senses: sight, sound, and touch. Your eyes are constantly transmitting information to your brain, even if you aren't focusing on it. Your sense of hearing helps your brain measure stability and motion. Through your sense of touch, your nerves communicate with your brain to confirm your body's position in space. Your brain sends signals back to the muscles to make necessary adjustments in position, contraction or relaxation. Since you use 300 muscles to balance when you are standing still, this sensory system benefits greatly from exercise.

You are what you eat, especially when it comes to brain health. Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna, and nuts have been shown to protect cognitive function by improving object recognition, memory, and spatial/localized memory. Eating precooked or processed foods has been shown to stimulate excess production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the feelings of pleasure. Overproducing dopamine from eating can lead to unnecessary food cravings. A simple rule of thumb: if it ain’t green, its mean (plus protein).

Make sure the athlete is getting enough water, especially during those hot summer games. Drinking an adequate amount of water is essential for all bodily functions. Eight to ten 8 oz. glasses per day is the standard. Depending on their activity level, they may need to increase this amount. Rule of thumb: if your pee isn’t clear, you aren’t drinking enough water.