Working Memory Exercises That Actually Work
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We've included an N-Back exercise at the bottom of this article. Jump to the exercise ↓
The internet is full of claims about brain training games that will supercharge your memory. The reality is more complicated. Some working memory exercises have genuine research support. Others are essentially expensive distractions. Knowing the difference can save you time and actually improve your cognitive abilities.
This guide covers the exercises that research suggests can make a real difference—and explains why they work.
What Makes an Exercise "Work"?
Before diving into specific exercises, it's worth understanding what "working" actually means in this context. A working memory exercise can:
- Improve performance on that specific task — You get better at the exercise itself
- Transfer to similar tasks — Improvements carry over to related working memory tests
- Transfer to real-world abilities — Benefits show up in reading, math, reasoning, or daily life
Almost any exercise achieves #1 with practice. The real question is whether benefits transfer. This is where research gets controversial—and where separating effective exercises from useless ones becomes important.
The N-Back: The Most Researched Exercise
The N-Back test is the most studied working memory training task. You see a sequence of items (letters, positions, or both) and must identify when the current item matches one from N steps back.
How it works: In 2-back, you press a button when the current letter matches the one from two items ago. In 3-back, you're matching three items back. The task constantly requires updating your mental record while inhibiting responses to non-matching items.
What research shows: A landmark 2008 study by Jaeggi and colleagues found that N-back training improved fluid intelligence—the ability to reason and solve new problems (Jaeggi et al., 2008). This sparked enormous interest because fluid intelligence was previously thought to be fixed.
However, subsequent research has been mixed. Some studies replicate the benefits; others don't. A meta-analysis found small but significant improvements in working memory from N-back training, though transfer to fluid intelligence was less consistent (Au et al., 2015).
Why it may work: N-back taxes the central executive—the control system that manages attention and coordinates information. Unlike simple memory tasks, it requires constant updating, interference management, and response inhibition. These are the core executive functions that underlie complex cognition.
Bottom line: N-back has the strongest research base of any working memory exercise. Benefits are most consistent for working memory itself, with possible but debated transfer to broader abilities. Try the N-back exercise at the bottom of this page.
Dual N-Back: Double the Challenge
Dual N-back adds a second modality—typically visual position AND auditory/verbal items simultaneously. You must track both streams and respond when either matches its N-back counterpart.
Why it may be more effective: By engaging both the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop of Baddeley's working memory model simultaneously, dual N-back may create more comprehensive training. Some research suggests dual N-back produces larger training effects than single N-back.
The catch: It's significantly harder and more frustrating. Dropout rates in training studies are higher for dual N-back. An exercise only works if you actually do it consistently.
Complex Span Tasks
Complex span tasks require holding information in mind while performing a secondary processing task. Examples include:
- Operation span: Remember words while solving math problems between each word
- Reading span: Remember final words of sentences while judging if each sentence makes sense
- Symmetry span: Remember spatial locations while judging if patterns are symmetrical
What research shows: Complex span tasks correlate strongly with general cognitive ability and predict academic performance. Training on these tasks does improve complex span performance, though transfer effects are debated (Harrison et al., 2013).
Why they may work: Like N-back, complex span tasks force you to maintain information while simultaneously processing other information—the essence of working memory as opposed to simple storage.
Backward Span Tasks
In backward span tasks, you must recall a sequence in reverse order. The Digit Span Test (backward version) is the classic example—hear "7-3-9" and respond "9-3-7."
Why they work: Backward recall requires more than storage. You must hold the entire sequence while mentally manipulating it. This engages executive control processes that forward recall doesn't require.
Limitation: Backward span is easier to "game" through strategies than N-back. With practice, people develop chunking and visualization techniques that improve performance without necessarily expanding core working memory capacity.
Updating Tasks
Updating tasks require continuously modifying what you're holding in working memory. Our Memory Update Pro is an example—you track multiple values that change throughout the task.
Why they work: Updating is a core executive function. Unlike tasks where you encode information once and maintain it, updating requires repeatedly replacing old information with new. This dynamic aspect may better reflect real-world working memory demands.
Spatial Working Memory Exercises
Tasks like the Spatial Span Test and Visual Memory Test train the visuospatial component of working memory.
What research shows: Spatial working memory training can improve spatial working memory performance. Some studies show benefits for related visual tasks. Transfer to verbal working memory or general intelligence is less clear.
When to use: If your goals are specifically visual-spatial (navigation, design, certain types of mathematics), spatial exercises make sense. For general cognitive enhancement, combining with verbal/executive exercises is probably better.
What Doesn't Work (Or Works Less Than Claimed)
Not all "brain training" exercises improve working memory meaningfully:
Simple Repetition Games
Games that just ask you to remember longer and longer sequences without any processing component may improve performance on that specific game but show limited transfer. The key difference from effective exercises is the lack of executive demand.
Speed-Based Games
Many commercial brain training games emphasize speed over working memory load. Getting faster at a simple task isn't the same as expanding working memory capacity.
Passive Exercises
Anything you can do on autopilot isn't training working memory. The challenge and mental effort are the point—when an exercise becomes automatic, it's no longer expanding capacity.
Principles for Effective Training
Regardless of which exercises you choose, these principles maximize effectiveness:
Progressive Difficulty
Working memory training must stay challenging. If 2-back becomes easy, move to 3-back. If you're consistently hitting 7 items in a span task, the exercise is no longer training you—it's just practice.
Consistency Over Intensity
Research protocols typically use 15-25 minutes per day, 4-5 days per week, for several weeks. Brief daily practice beats occasional marathon sessions.
Variety Within Reason
Training multiple exercises (N-back, complex span, spatial tasks) may produce broader benefits than focusing on just one. But constantly switching to new games prevents the progressive difficulty needed for improvement.
Embrace the Struggle
Effective working memory training feels hard. If you're not regularly making errors and feeling mentally taxed, the difficulty is too low. The cognitive discomfort is the training stimulus.
Realistic Expectations
Working memory training can produce real improvements, but keep expectations realistic:
- Improvements in working memory tasks are reliable with consistent training
- Transfer to similar untrained tasks is likely but smaller
- Transfer to general intelligence or academic performance is possible but not guaranteed
- Effects require maintenance—stop training and benefits may fade
For people with below-average working memory (including many with ADHD), training may produce more noticeable real-world benefits. For those already in the normal range, improvements may be harder to detect in daily life even if test scores improve.
Try the N-Back Exercise
The N-Back below is the most research-supported working memory exercise available. Start with 2-back—respond when the current letter matches what appeared two items ago. When that becomes comfortable (around 80% accuracy), challenge yourself with 3-back.
Remember: it should feel difficult. That mental effort is working memory training in action.