That explains why Sudoku and computer memory games can have a positive effect on the brain's memory performance. "You don't just improve your concentration, you also practice strategic thinking and how to link different facts," explains the psychiatrist. That ability can be useful in daily life.

The most effective puzzles are those that test more than your existing knowledge which excludes puzzles such as crosswords.

There are a number of books and games for electronic consoles that go in that direction, according to Brandenburg, who also works as a memory coach at Germany's Memory Clinic in Essen.

"The best exercises are well designed and gradually become more challenging as they progress," he says.

But computer games and electronic memory puzzles are not all-purpose weapons against memory loss, says psychiatrist Michael Rapp from Berlin's Charite University Hospital.

"There is no exercise that can make a person more intelligent overall," says the head of the clinic's geriatric psychiatry working group.

You don't need to buy expensive games to keep your brain fit. If you follow a few pointers every day, you will improve your memory or at the very least, keep it at the present level.

"Communicating is essential," says Brandenburg, adding, "That's how you learn to query things, gain new knowledge and grapple with questions."

Another way of improving memory is to learn a new language, according to Roth-Sackenheim. Listening to music, doing domestic chores alone or pursuing a hobby can also help.

There is another alternative - keeping busy with your grandchildren. When elderly people try to understand young people's lives, they also exercise their brains.

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Editor:Yang Jie