Mental agility is a function that allows us to adapt quickly to the environment, to a situation or to a stimulus. It is thanks to mental agility that we can face different situations and know what to do depending on the context and the people we are with.

Our brain is able to memorize the effects of our actions and it can predict which behavior will have the best result depending on the situation in order to make the task flow smoothly, quickly and efficiently.

What is mental agility?

Mental agility is the ability to modify one’s behavior or thinking by adapting to the context. This skill is linked to the speed of our thinking. Indeed, when we have to face a situation, we must not only find the right strategy, but we must do it as quickly as possible.

During our existence, we learn how to handle situations, what words to use or what behavior to have in certain contexts and we memorize strategies to solve problems.

Mental agility allows us to explore all the knowledge we have and to choose the best resources to use. We must therefore be able to quickly find the best strategy and implement it. Finally, we must be able to modify our strategy and our behavior according to the feedback to see if the chosen strategy is effective or not.

This skill allows us to adapt easily to new situations.

Disorders related to mental agility

When we talk about mental agility disorders, we are talking about slow processing speed. This can be caused by pathologies or developmental disorders such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia or auditory processing disorder.

These difficulties can cause learning difficulties in children or difficulties in planning goals, solving problems with logical strategies or the ability to modify thoughts and behaviors.

Processing speed disorders also coexists with people on the autism spectrum and with other pathologies such as dementia (Alzheimer’s) or illnesses such as schizophrenia in which processing speed is greatly affected.

Mental agility disorders can occur at any age. This is why it is important to train this cognitive function.

Exercises to train and improve mental agility 

To improve mental agility and therefore reasoning speed, it is important to develop your own strategies.

The first thing to do is to strengthen the connections in the brain. To do so, it is important to try and make logical connections in everyday situations. For example, when you go shopping, you can think of the best route to take according to your experience (for exemple, the last time you went to get the eggs first, but it’s better to get them later), or a recipe made with the ingredients you see.

When you are faced with a problem, try to think of all possible solutions, even the most absurd ones. This exercise allows you to work on finding other solutions and not to stay focused only on one strategy.

Our games to work on speed

• Brainstorm
• Noah’s Ark
• Twins
• Moles Invasion
• Silly Sequence

Mental agility allows us to adapt to the situation through 4 mechanisms:

1. Fluidity in the accomplishment of a task

When we do something our brain must be able to foresee the effects of our actions. Moreover, we must already know the set of actions to be done in order not to stop at each step. This allows us to act knowing already what we expect and therefore being ready for the next action.

In addition, as you drag the second animal to the arch, you already know which animal will be the next to be taken. To make the exercise smooth, we start with the animals in the foreground, where we can directly identify the peer. 

2. Response time

Response time is the time that passes between the reception of the stimulus and our response. It is the speed with which we process information, think of a solution and put it into practice. Response time does not include the time it takes to complete a task, but the time it takes to find the right strategy. This mechanism also allows us to avoid dangers, for example if there is a ball coming towards us, we can dodge it if we have a good response time.

3. Automating a task

After having performed a task several times, we can automate it.
This means that we can do it without paying attention, and therefore with more ease since we don’t have to think about how to act, or what strategy to use. There are many tasks that we automate in the course of our lives, from the “simplest”, such as walking or tying our shoes, to the most complex, such as driving.

4. Speed of stimulus recognition

In the environment in which we live, we receive many different stimuli. It is therefore important to recognize them quickly to know which ones are important. Stimulus recognition also allows us to have reference points and to better understand the situation, the possible difficulties and the possible help that we can have.

SCARLETT

A version for seniors and adults with advanced cognitive disorders (such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s…).

Easy and adapted games, to encourage players in their brain training.