Brain Training vs Learning New Skills: Which Challenges the Brain More?

Brain Training vs Learning New Skills: Which Challenges the Brain More?

Learning a complex new skill often challenges several cognitive abilities at once, while brain training typically targets more specific abilities such as memory, attention, or processing speed. However, neither approach is automatically better for every person or every goal.

If your goal is to become better at a particular mental task, structured cognitive training may be useful. If you want meaningful activities that challenge several abilities while building practical knowledge, learning a language, instrument, craft, or other unfamiliar skill may be a good choice.

Research supports benefits from certain types of both activities, but it has not established that either approach reliably prevents dementia or produces broad improvements in intelligence.

Brain Training vs Learning New Skills at a Glance

Feature	Brain Training	Learning New Skills
Main purpose	Practice selected cognitive abilities	Acquire a practical or creative ability
Examples	Memory tasks, reasoning exercises, processing-speed training	Learning music, photography, languages, crafts, or technology
Cognitive demands	Often emphasizes specific mental processes	May combine memory, attention, reasoning, and movement
Strongest evidence	Improvement on trained tasks; some structured programs show additional benefits	Improvement in the learned skill; some studies show benefits on cognitive tests
Broader benefits	Depend on the training and outcome measured	Promising but not consistently established
Dementia prevention	Not established for commercial brain games	Not established for individual skill-learning activities

The important distinction is between how demanding an activity feels and whether practicing it improves cognitive abilities outside that activity.

What Is Brain Training?

Brain training refers to structured exercises intended to practice cognitive abilities such as memory, reasoning, attention, or processing speed.

Examples include:

• Remembering sequences of numbers or objects.
• Identifying visual information quickly.
• Completing increasingly difficult reasoning exercises.
• Practicing working-memory tasks.
• Responding to changing instructions while ignoring distractions.

Some programs use computer games or mobile applications. Others involve structured exercises administered in research or clinical settings.

These are not necessarily equivalent. A commercial puzzle game should not be assumed to produce the same results as a cognitive-training program evaluated in a controlled clinical trial.

What Does Brain Training Actually Improve?

One of the most consistent findings is that people improve at tasks they repeatedly practice.

Someone who practices remembering number sequences may become better at that particular memory exercise.

However, improvement on a training task does not automatically mean that everyday memory, intelligence, or concentration has improved.

Researchers distinguish these outcomes using the concepts of near transfer and far transfer.

What Is the Difference Between Near Transfer and Far Transfer?

Near transfer occurs when training improves performance on an untrained task that closely resembles the practiced activity.

Far transfer occurs when improvement extends to substantially different cognitive tasks or real-world activities.

For example:

• Getting better at a memory game is improvement on the trained task.
• Improving on a different but similar memory exercise may represent near transfer.
• Becoming better at unrelated workplace decisions or everyday problem-solving would represent broader transfer.

A major 2016 review published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest found substantial evidence that cognitive training improves performance on practiced tasks, less evidence for improvement on closely related tasks, and limited evidence for broad improvements in everyday cognitive functioning.

The findings do not mean every cognitive-training approach is ineffective. They mean claims about benefits beyond the trained activity require stronger evidence.

Read the peer-reviewed review of brain-training effectiveness.

What Makes Learning a New Skill Different?

Learning a new skill usually involves acquiring knowledge and practicing how to apply it in increasingly complex situations.

For example, learning to play a musical instrument may involve:

• Remembering notes or musical patterns.
• Coordinating hand movements.
• Listening for pitch and rhythm.
• Correcting mistakes.
• Maintaining attention during practice.

Learning a language may require vocabulary, listening comprehension, memory, speech production, and social interaction.

Learning photography may involve understanding camera settings, visual composition, technical problem-solving, and editing software.

These activities can combine several cognitive demands and often produce a practical outcome beyond performing well on an exercise.

However, activating more cognitive processes does not automatically prove that an activity produces greater long-term cognitive benefits.

What Does Research Say About Learning New Skills?

One influential study, commonly called the Synapse Project, examined whether sustained learning of unfamiliar skills could benefit cognition in older adults.

Published in Psychological Science in 2014, the study involved adults learning digital photography, quilting, or a combination of those skills over approximately three months.

Participants in cognitively demanding learning conditions showed greater improvements in episodic memory than comparison groups engaged in less demanding activities.

Some findings were stronger for digital photography than for quilting alone.

This study supports the possibility that sustained, challenging learning can benefit certain cognitive abilities in older adulthood.

However, there are important limitations:

• The study involved specific activities and a particular participant population.
• It did not establish that every new skill improves memory.
• It did not prove that skill learning prevents dementia.
• It was not a definitive head-to-head comparison with every type of brain training.
• Improvement on selected cognitive tests does not guarantee improvement across all aspects of daily functioning.

Read the original Synapse Project research.

Does Brain Training Have Benefits Beyond Games?

Some structured cognitive-training interventions have demonstrated benefits in research studies.

The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) trial examined training in memory, reasoning, and processing speed among older adults.

The research found improvements in trained abilities, and some benefits involving reasoning and processing speed persisted during long-term follow-up.

These findings are important because they demonstrate that structured cognitive training should not be dismissed as merely practicing games.

At the same time, the National Institute on Aging cautions that there is insufficient evidence to assume commercially available brain-training applications provide the same benefits as interventions tested in clinical research.

See the National Institute on Aging’s guidance on cognitive health.

Which Activity Challenges More Parts of the Brain?

A complex real-world skill may combine more types of processing than a simple, narrowly designed cognitive exercise.

For example, dancing can involve movement, timing, memory, balance, and adaptation to changing information.

However, a difficult cognitive-training task may also involve multiple interacting mental processes.

There is no universally accepted measurement that allows researchers to rank every activity according to how much of the brain it challenges.

More brain activation is not necessarily better. Changes in activation can reflect task demands, efficiency, familiarity, or other factors.

Likewise, feeling mentally exhausted after an activity does not establish that it produced beneficial neural changes.

If cognitive activities leave you unusually fatigued, see our guide explaining why your brain feels tired.

What Is Neuroplasticity, and Why Does It Matter?

Neuroplasticity refers to the nervous system’s ability to change in response to experience, learning, and other influences.

Practicing a memory task, learning a new skill, and participating in rehabilitation may all involve neuroplastic processes.

However, the presence of neural adaptation does not establish that an activity improves every cognitive ability or protects against a particular disease.

Brain changes need to be interpreted alongside meaningful outcomes, such as improvements in the intended skill, cognitive testing, or daily functioning.

Our guide to cognitive performance explains the abilities involved in memory, attention, reasoning, and everyday thinking.

Which Is Better for Long-Term Brain Health?

Neither brain training nor new skill learning has been proven universally superior for long-term cognitive health.

Both can provide meaningful engagement, but research findings vary according to the specific intervention, participant population, duration, and outcome measured.

For someone primarily interested in maintaining an enjoyable routine, learning a language, craft, instrument, or other skill may offer practical and social benefits beyond cognitive test performance.

Someone who wants to practice a particular cognitive ability may prefer structured training, especially when the program has evidence supporting that specific goal.

The most appropriate activity is one that matches your interests, needs, abilities, and circumstances.

What About Cognitive Reserve?

Cognitive reserve is a research concept used to help explain why some people maintain relatively favorable cognitive functioning despite age-related changes or brain disease.

Education, occupational complexity, and lifelong cognitive engagement are frequently studied as possible contributors or indicators.

Learning new skills may be associated with reserve-related factors, but there is no validated formula showing that a particular activity increases cognitive reserve by a specific amount.

Cognitive reserve should also not be confused with guaranteed protection against dementia.

For additional context, explore What Is Cognitive Resilience?.

Examples of Meaningful Cognitive Challenges

The following activities can provide different types of mental engagement.

Learning a Language

Language learning may involve memory, listening, vocabulary, grammar, communication, and attention.

The level of challenge depends on your starting ability, learning methods, and goals.

Although some observational studies have linked bilingualism with differences in cognitive aging outcomes, these findings do not establish that beginning a language course prevents dementia.

Learning a Musical Instrument

Musical training combines listening, timing, movement, memory, and practice.

Research has examined possible relationships between musical experience and cognitive abilities, but results do not prove that learning an instrument broadly improves intelligence or prevents cognitive decline.

Photography, Crafts, and Creative Skills

Digital photography, quilting, drawing, and similar activities may require planning, visual processing, memory, and problem-solving.

They can also provide meaningful personal goals and a sense of accomplishment.

Dance and Movement-Based Learning

Learning dance routines may combine memory, coordination, attention, and physical activity.

Physical and cognitive demands can vary considerably depending on the activity and individual.

Choose movement-based activities appropriate to your balance, mobility, health, and abilities.

Structured Cognitive Exercises

Memory exercises, reasoning tasks, and processing-speed training can provide focused cognitive challenges.

The evidence supporting a program should be evaluated based on the specific outcomes tested rather than claims about making the entire brain stronger.

How to Choose Between Brain Training and Skill Learning

Start by identifying what you actually want to accomplish.

• To learn something useful: Choose a practical skill you genuinely want to develop.
• To practice a specific cognitive ability: Consider a structured exercise with evidence relevant to that ability.
• To stay mentally engaged: Choose challenging, enjoyable activities that you can continue comfortably.
• To improve social connection: Consider group classes, music activities, or other shared learning experiences.
• To address diagnosed cognitive difficulties: Ask a qualified healthcare professional whether individualized cognitive rehabilitation or another intervention is appropriate.

There is no research-established requirement to practice brain games for a particular number of minutes daily or change hobbies every few months.

Consistency, enjoyment, suitable difficulty, and personal relevance are reasonable considerations when choosing activities.

Can You Combine Brain Training and Learning New Skills?

Yes. You can use structured cognitive exercises alongside real-world learning if you enjoy both.

For example, someone might occasionally practice memory exercises while taking a photography class or learning a musical instrument.

However, combining them has not been established as a universal formula for maximizing cognitive health.

You also do not need to purchase a brain-training subscription to remain mentally active.

Reading, learning new technology, participating in meaningful hobbies, and developing useful skills can all provide opportunities for cognitive engagement.

What About Hearing Rehabilitation and Cognitive Training?

Cognitive functioning and hearing-related performance can overlap, particularly when activities involve spoken communication.

Hearing rehabilitation may improve access to speech and reduce some listening-related difficulties for people with hearing loss.

However, improved communication performance should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of increased intelligence, greater cognitive reserve, or dementia prevention.

Our article Can Hearing Rehabilitation Improve Cognitive Performance? examines what research supports and where important uncertainties remain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brain Training a Waste of Time?

No. Brain training can help people improve at practiced tasks, and certain structured interventions have demonstrated additional benefits. However, commercial claims about broad improvements in cognition or dementia prevention often exceed the available evidence.

Does Learning a New Skill Challenge the Brain More Than Puzzles?

A complex new skill may engage more types of cognitive processing than a simple puzzle. However, the level of challenge depends on the activity, difficulty, individual, and what is being measured. Greater complexity does not guarantee greater cognitive benefit.

Can Learning New Skills Prevent Dementia?

No individual skill-learning activity has been proven to prevent dementia. Lifelong cognitive engagement may be associated with favorable cognitive aging outcomes, but association does not establish prevention.

How Long Does It Take to Benefit From Learning a New Skill?

Progress in the skill itself may occur with practice, but the timeline varies. Research does not establish a universal period after which broader cognitive benefits will appear.

Are Brain-Training Apps Scientifically Proven?

Some exercises are based on tasks used in cognitive research, but that does not mean every commercial product has demonstrated broad real-world benefits. Evidence must be evaluated for each program and the particular outcome claimed.

Is Learning More Difficult for Older Adults?

Some aspects of learning may change with age, including processing speed. However, older adults can continue acquiring skills and benefiting from meaningful educational and creative activities. Learning outcomes vary substantially among individuals.

Should Someone With Memory Problems Use Brain-Training Apps?

Persistent or worsening memory problems should be medically evaluated. Brain games are not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or individualized cognitive rehabilitation when clinically indicated.

The Bottom Line

Learning a new skill often combines several cognitive demands and provides practical benefits beyond the activity itself. Brain training offers more targeted practice, with some structured interventions demonstrating meaningful improvements.

The evidence does not support declaring either approach a universal winner for improving cognition or preventing dementia.

Choose mentally engaging activities that suit your interests and abilities, remain appropriately challenging, and support meaningful goals.

For a broader view of cognitive aging, memory, lifestyle factors, and evidence-based strategies, visit our Memory and Brain Health: The Complete Guide.

Medical disclaimer: Apex Brain & Hearing Health provides general educational information and does not replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.