Training your working memory with sufficient effort over enough time will lead to a noticeable increase in working memory capacity. But what good is that, in and of itself? Watch the video below to find out.

This is the final part of a four part series on working memory. Find the other parts below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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Video transcript:

Training your working memory with sufficient effort over enough time will lead to a noticeable increase in working memory capacity. 

As illustrated on this normal distribution curve, a person completing a  Cogmed Working Memory training will typically increase their WM capacity by 0.7 standard deviations, a leap that will allow them to overtake a large number of their peers. 

But what good is that, in and of itself? Do you really need to increase your working memory capacity?

Well, whether or not you need to is something only you can answer, but research shows that an increased working memory can lead to improvements in a range of cognitive tasks. Some of these measurable improvements can be seen immediately after a person completes a training program, while other effects are indirect and take more time to develop fully.

The following effects have been demonstrated in research: 

1. Increased ability to focus attention
2. Better capacity to keep more numbers in mind, meaning,  improved ease in solving complex mental calculations
3. Improved reading comprehension, as longer stretches of words are available to be turned into meaning
4. Remembering more steps of an instruction while carrying out a task
5. Becoming less likely to act on impulses
6. Improved performance in school, which is first shown in math and reading, and later in other subjects
7. And, Better self confidence in academic, professional, and other cognitively demanding contexts

For most people, improvements of these kinds readily translate to a better daily life:

When a child gets better at remembering the instructions from a parent, i’is helpful for the entire family. When they can keep more of the relevant information in mind, the daily struggle with homework becomes more bearable. With an increased ability to focus on what they decide to focus on, in school and in everyday life, they come closer to reaching their full potential.

While research has shown that everyone can improve their working memory capacity and, thereby their, cognitive abilities through training, the way the effects are seen can vary based on your starting point. 

Let’s return to this chart. 2/3ds of all people can be found in the range indicated by the brackets. These people fall into what we can consider to be a normal working memory capacity. If your starting level, before training is here:

The effects of training would take you here. An increase that will have a positive effect on your cognitive abilities. However, it is likely you didn’t have much trouble focusing or staying on task to begin with, and so the effects might not be so easy to see or drastically improve your quality of life. This is not to say the training isn’t beneficial or impactful. A recent study in a group of typically developing school children, randomized to either training or teaching as usual, showed that the training group had a 16 percentage point higher chance of getting into the academically more advanced school-track three years after the completed training than did their peers in the control group. 

Consider, however, people whose WM capacity are somewhere in this range:

A WM capacity in this range is closely associated with attention deficit, something that will likely have a large negative impact on a person’s life. If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, you’re starting level might be here, below average level: 

If you complete a  course of the training, a 0.7 standard deviation increase in capacity will take you here: 

within average level. People within this range do not in general experience WM related difficulties in their day to day life, meaning, this type of change can be incredibly impactful.

So while WM training has been demonstrated to have positive effects on anyone, regardless of their starting level, the positive changes are easier to see, and potentially more rewarding for people who experience WM related problems in their everyday lives. 

Increasing working Memory capacity through training can improve your cognitive abilities, helping you get better at focusing, learning and getting things done.

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