Executive Function — Your Brain's Control Center
Executive function is the set of mental skills that let you plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and manage multiple tasks. It lives in your prefrontal cortex — the front of your brain — and it is the first cognitive domain to decline with age.
When executive function weakens, you make more impulsive decisions, lose focus mid-task, forget why you walked into a room, and react to distractions instead of filtering them out. These are not memory problems. They are control problems. And Simon Says is one of the most direct ways to train that control.
This is exactly the kind of brain-body challenge that Stephen Jepson advocates in his play-based fitness approach at Never Leave the Playground. His philosophy is that the best brain exercises do not look like exercises — they look like games. Simon Says is a perfect example: it feels like play, but it is intensely training your frontal lobe.
How Simon Says Trains Your Brain
Response Inhibition — The Go/No-Go Decision
The core of Simon Says is the go/no-go decision. "Simon says touch your nose" — you touch your nose. "Touch your ears" — you must not move. Your brain hears the command, prepares to act, and then must override that preparation if "Simon says" was not included.
This is response inhibition, and it is the single most important executive function skill. It is what stops you from stepping into traffic, from reaching for a hot pan, from making impulsive decisions. Research shows response inhibition declines measurably after age 60 — but it responds strongly to training.
The Neuroscience of Inhibition
When you hear a Simon Says command, your motor cortex begins preparing the movement before you consciously decide whether to act. If "Simon says" was not spoken, your prefrontal cortex must send an override signal to cancel the prepared movement. This prefrontal braking system weakens with age but strengthens dramatically with practice — exactly what Simon Says provides.
The Stroop Variation — Advanced Brain Training
Reverse Commands
Once standard Simon Says feels comfortable, introduce the Stroop variation: do the opposite of what is commanded. "Simon says raise your right hand" — you raise your left hand. "Simon says step forward" — you step backward. "Simon says look up" — you look down.
This is extraordinarily difficult at first. Your brain must hear the command, inhibit the natural response, compute the opposite, and then execute it — all in real time. The cognitive interference this creates is one of the most intense executive function challenges available without clinical equipment.
Speed Variation
Start slowly with three to four seconds between commands. As players improve, increase the pace. Faster commands reduce the time available for the inhibition decision, forcing the prefrontal cortex to work harder. This directly trains processing speed alongside response inhibition.
Used by Physical Therapists
Physical and occupational therapists use Simon Says-style tasks as both assessment and treatment tools. Performance on go/no-go tasks correlates with fall risk, driving safety, and independent living capacity. Therapists track error rates and response times to measure cognitive rehabilitation progress. If your PT uses a game like this, they are testing and training your executive function.
Playing Simon Says at Home or in Groups
Solo Practice
Record yourself giving Simon Says commands (mix in trick commands without "Simon says"). Play the recording and follow along. Or use a free Simon Says app — several are designed specifically for cognitive training. Solo practice removes the social pressure and lets you focus on accuracy.
Group Settings
Simon Says is ideal for senior centers, family gatherings, and therapy groups. Rotate the leader role — being the caller requires planning, sequencing, and creativity, which are additional cognitive exercises. Groups of four to eight work best for engagement and social interaction.