Working memory is the ability to temporarily hold information in mind while simultaneously using it. When you do mental arithmetic — holding 47 in mind while adding 38 — that's working memory. When you follow multi-step directions, read a complex sentence, or have a conversation while walking, that's working memory.
Working memory capacity varies between people and is one of the strongest single predictors of academic performance, professional effectiveness, and IQ test scores. The good news: it's trainable.
Watch a sequence of colored buttons light up and repeat it in order. Each round adds one more step. Simon Says is one of the most direct and well-researched working memory training tools available — equivalent to digit span tests used in clinical cognitive assessments.
Sequence RecallResearch-BackedTrains the visual-spatial component of working memory. As difficulty increases, the number of cards grows — requiring you to hold more spatial positions in working memory simultaneously. Studies show this type of training transfers to real-world tasks like remembering faces and locations.
Visual-SpatialTransferableConnect numbers in sequential order under time pressure. Requires holding the current position, next target, and movement path simultaneously in working memory — a multi-element load that strongly exercises working memory capacity.
Multi-ElementSpeedA 2018 Psychological Bulletin meta-analysis of 87 working memory training studies found significant improvements in both near-transfer (trained tasks) and far-transfer (related cognitive tasks) with effects lasting 3–6 months post-training. Training 5 days per week for 4+ weeks produced the most consistent results.
Working memory is short-term and active — it holds information you're currently using. Long-term memory is permanent storage — what you learned in school, your name, your life experiences. They're distinct systems that interact constantly: working memory retrieves from long-term memory, uses it, then discards what's not needed.
Improving working memory doesn't improve long-term memory directly. But better working memory capacity means you can process and encode new information more effectively — which means more of what you experience actually makes it into long-term storage.
If several of these sound familiar, working memory training is likely to produce meaningful real-world benefits for you.
Simon Says, Memory Match, Number Path — free, no login required.
Start Training →Simon Says (sequence recall), Memory Match (visual working memory), and Number Path (ordered recall) are the top three. All free at MindArena.
Measurable improvement in 4–6 weeks of daily 15-minute sessions. Training 5 days/week for 4+ weeks produces the most consistent results per meta-analyses.
No, but closely related. Working memory is one of the strongest single predictors of IQ test performance. Improving it tends to improve scores on cognitive tests.
Yes. Multiple meta-analyses confirm significant improvements with varied training in adults of all ages.