Frequently Asked Questions

General

A 40Hz Gamma frequency wave is a type of brainwave associated with neural synchronization. This rhythmic activity plays a role in several cognitive functions, including memory retrieval, attention, and problem solving. Stimulating the brain at this frequency may help reinforce these natural rhythms.

Yes. Research has shown that exposure to 40Hz light flickering can induce
gamma frequency oscillations in the brain. This effect was demonstrated in a study
published in the journal Nature in 2016, titled “Gamma frequency entrainment attenuates amyloid load and modifies microglia.“

Research has shown that cognitive exercises can significantly improve
memory and cognitive function. In AlzLife, we combine cognitive exercises with 40Hz light stimulation to create a synergistic effect. This combination may start a positive feedback loop:
40Hz light may trigger neuronal synchronization, which can improve cognitive function — and improved cognitive activity may further support synchronization.
Additionally, to improve usability, all of the games in the app use a high-contrast color scheme for better visibility.

We do not have a definitive answer. From a theoretical perspective, to maximize gamma entrainment, the 40Hz light should be positioned in the foveal region of your retina — the area responsible for sharp central vision and with the greatest representation in the brain’s cortex.
For this reason, it’s best to keep the screen directly in front of you and to
focus your eyes on the screen while engaging with the app (such as when solving puzzles).

You can use AlzLife on devices with a 60Hz refresh rate, but the maximum flickering rate on these devices is 30Hz due to hardware limitations. To experience the full 40Hz light stimulation, you’ll need a device with a higher refresh rate. Supported models include:

  • iPad Pro 10.5″ (2017) or newer
  • iPad Pro 12.9″ (2017) or newer
  • iPhone 13 Pro or newer

Devices outside of these models will still run the app but may not deliver the therapeutic 40Hz light effect.

  1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. In the Learning section, tap General > Accessibility > Guided Access. Toggle Guided Access On.
  3. Tap on Set Passcode and choose a passcode that only you will know. Toggle Accessibility Shortcut to Off.

Once Guided Access is enabled, if AlzLife user tries to leave the app, a banner message will appear telling them to triple-click the Home button to exit. If they don’t know the passcode, they won’t be able to exit Guided Access.

If you do not hear the 40Hz sound:
1. Make sure that the 40Hz Sound is ON in the global app Settings (the Settings button is in the top left corner of the home screen).
2. Set iPad sound volume to maximum
3. Use over-the-ear headphones
4. 40Hz Sound plays only during cognitive games
5. Un-mute the iPad speakers: swipe down from the top right corner of the screen to open the Control Center. Tap on the bell icon to turn it on – it should become white.

If the 40Hz gamma frequency flicker feels uncomfortable, start using the app with the light settings set to a minimum. Most people get used to the flicker after a few sessions. If you stop noticing the flicker, you may want to gradually increase the intensity in the app’s Settings.

Note: Some people who are susceptible to seizures may react negatively to gamma light. If you have a history of seizures, please consult your primary doctor before using this application.

<p>Start with the games you are familiar with, then try as many games as possible. We recommend beginning at an easy level and gradually increasing the difficulty to a level that is challenging but not uncomfortable.</p>

Yes. We designed games with all levels of difficulty.

The benefits of cognitive games are greatly reduced if you rely on trial-and-error guessing instead of active mental effort. We encourage you to think through the solution mentally and only input your answer once you are confident.

You can use AlzLife on most smartphones and tablets, but the effectiveness depends on your device’s screen refresh rate.

Devices with 60Hz refresh rate

Most standard phones and tablets have a 60Hz screen. AlzLife will run on these devices, but the light stimulation will be limited to 30Hz. This may offer lower therapeutic value.

Devices with 80Hz or higher refresh rate

These devices can display the full 40Hz light stimulation, which is optimal for AlzLife.

Apple Devices:

Android Devices:

Tip: On some Android devices, you may need to disable power-saving modes to enable higher refresh rates (Settings → Battery → Power Saving → Disable).

  • Google Pixel 4 and newer
  • Samsung Galaxy S20, A54, Galaxy Note 20 and newer
  • Asus ROG Phone 2 and newer
  • OnePlus 7 Pro, 7T, 7T Pro and newer
  • Realme X2 Pro, Poco X2, X50, 6 Pro, 6 and newer
  • Nubia Red Magic 3S and newer
  • Xiaomi Mi 10, 10 Pro 5G and newer
  • Razer Phone 2 and newer
  • Sharp Aquos Zero2, R1 and newer
  • Blackview BV8100, Shark8 and newer
  • Motorola Moto G and newer
  • NUU A25 and newer
  • REDMAGIC 9 Pro and newer
  • Honor Magic 3 Pro and newer
  • Huawei Mate 50 Pro, P50 Pro, Pura 70 Pro and newer
  • Sony Xperia series (recent models)
  • Xiaomi 10 and newer

Yes, an internet connection is required to use AlzLife. All games and content are loaded from our servers, so your device needs to be connected to the internet.

All subscription transactions are handled directly by your app store
(Apple App Store or Google Play). We do not process payments and do not receive subscription receipts.
Only you can cancel a subscription.

On an Apple device:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap iTunes & App Store.
  3. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen.
  4. Tap View Apple ID.
  5. Enter your Apple ID password or use Face ID/Touch ID.
  6. Tap Subscriptions.
  7. Select the subscription you want to cancel and follow the prompts.

On an Android device:

  1. Open the Google Play Store app.
  2. Tap the Menu (☰) button and select Subscriptions.
  3. Find and tap on AlzLife.
  4. Tap Cancel Subscription.
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to confirm cancellation.
To verify 40Hz light stimulation you need to slow down the light flickering. You can use slow motion video recording feature of a smartphone. For example, iPhone Slo-Mo mode reduces speed 8-fold. You could use an iPhone Slo-Mo to record flickering of the iPad and then use the iPad Slo-Mo to record the iPhone’s video playback. By making Slo-Mo video of a Slo-Mo video you will slow the frames down 64 times.
 
Then just count the black frames. The original 40Hz stimulation was slowed down 64 times. Therefore, there should be 40 black frames in 64 seconds.

<p>We recommend using over-the-ear headphones or subwoofer speakers for the best sound experience.</p>

  1. Move the ring/silent switch into the ring mode. (The app is muted by iOS in the silent mode). If your iPad does not have a ring/silent switch, swipe down from the top right of the iPad screen to open the Control Center. Tap on the Bell icon to turn the silent mode off.
    If there is no Bell icon in the Control Center, add the Bell icon: Settings -> Control Center -> More Controls -> Add a control -> Silent Mode (the Bell icon). Then open the Control Center. Tap on the Bell icon to turn the silent mode off.  (The crossed bell on the white background  indicates the silent mode.)
  2. Use the sound volume buttons to increase the device volume.
  3. Turn sound on inside the app: tap the Settings button > scroll to Sounds.

If the game buttons are unresponsive, something may have gone wrong in your device’s operating system.
Please try shutting down and restarting your device.

Hold down the power button until you are prompted to power off your device.
Make sure to fully turn it off (instead of putting it in sleep mode), then restart and try again.

Devices with a 90Hz refresh rate, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, generate 45Hz light stimulation instead of 40Hz. This is due to technical limitations based on screen refresh rates.

Good news:

Research suggests that 45Hz stimulation may have similar cognitive benefits as 40Hz. You can read more about in this study.

If the screen and sound in AlzLife stop every 2 minutes, it is usually due to your device’s
auto-lock or sleep settings. Many devices automatically turn off the screen after a short time
to save battery, which also stops the sound and light stimulation.

How to fix it:

  • On iPad/iPhone: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock, and set it to Never while using AlzLife.
  • On Android: Go to Settings → Display → Screen timeout/sleep, and set it to a longer duration or Never.

After your session, you can change this setting back to your preferred timeout to save battery.

Game Instructions

  1. The grid has five different shapes of jewel – a green diamond, a purple diamond, a yellow star, and a pink circle.
  2. In order to score points, you must make them disappear.
  3. To make them disappear, rearrange them such that there are 3 or more of the same type vertically or horizontally.
  4. You can move jewels up, down, left, or right. You cannot move jewels diagonally.
  5. The game ends and you win when you make the target jewels disappear.
  1. The game begins with a chart of 9 open spaces.
  2. The goal is to get three X’s or 0’s in a row.
  3. The computer typically lets you go first and lets you use the X symbol.
  4. The game ends when either you or the computer wins
  1. Your goal is to move the carts of dirt out of the way of the cart of gold.
  2. The fewer moves you can achieve this goal, the greater the score.
  3. Carts are located on tracks. If a cart is placed vertically, you may only move it up or down. If a cart is horizontal, you may only move it left or right.
  4. As soon as the tracks are cleared and the gold cart can move freely, you have won.
  1. The goal is to fill in the empty cells with numbers from 1 to 9. Numbers in any row, column, or 3×3 box cannot be repeated.
  2. First, observe the numbers already present in the grid. These numbers are here to help you — now you know that you can’t use these numbers for the rest of each row, column, or 3×3 box.
  3. Now, take a look at your first box and pick an empty cell. Your job is to decide which number from 1 to 9 should go in it.
  4. You can make this easier for yourself by writing down the numbers 1 to 9 on a piece of paper and crossing them out if they already exist in the corresponding row, column, and 3×3 box.
  5. Now, write down a number that has not yet been crossed out in that empty cell.
  6. Continue filling in the empty cells one by one, making sure that the numbers you choose follow these rules.
  7. If you find that you’ve made a mistake or cannot proceed further, you may need to erase or revise the numbers you’ve already placed.
  8. Keep going until you have filled all the empty cells and have successfully placed numbers from 1 to 9 in each row, column, and 3×3 box.
  9. Once you’ve completed the entire grid, you have successfully solved the Sudoku puzzle.
  1. The game is a grid with several pairs of flowers.
  2. The goal is to create a path connecting one flower to its identical mate in the minimum number of moves.
  3. You do this by placing your finger to the first flower and dragging it, block by block, to the second flower.
  4. Once a connection path is created, you cannot cross it with another connection – you must go around it
  5. The number of your moves are tracked in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  1. The goal of Backgammon is to is to remove (also called bear off) all your pieces from the board before your opponent does. Please watch this educational video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXE5AwzNQ2s
  2. Roll the dice. You will move your checkers based on the dice rolls. Each player rolls two dice to determine how many points they can move their checkers. You can move one checker the total of both dice, or move two checkers separately using each die.
  3. You can only move pieces counterclockwise.
  4. Tap on the checker you want to move and then select the destination point. Checkers move from higher-numbered points to lower-numbered points. A checker can only land on a point occupied by your own checkers, an open point (no checkers), or a point with only one opponent’s checker (blot), which you can hit and move to the bar.
  5. Bearing off: Once all your checkers are in your home board (the last six points), you can start bearing off.
  6. Bearing Off Process: Roll the dice and remove checkers from the points that correspond to the dice numbers. You can bear off from any occupied point in your home board if you roll a number matching that point, or you can bear off from the highest occupied point.
  7. The game ends when one player bears off all their checkers.
  8. Gammon: If you win and your opponent has not borne off any checkers, it’s a Gammon, and you score double.
  9.  Backgammon: If you win and your opponent still has checkers in your home board or on the bar, it’s a Backgammon, and you score triple.

Additional Rules:

  1. Hitting: If you land on a blot, you hit the opponent’s checker, sending it to the bar.
  2. Re-entering: Checkers on the bar must re-enter the board on the opponent’s home board before you can continue moving.
  1. The goal of the game is to keep two objects in working memory: the picture of the person and the location of the Eifel Tower.
  2. Note the jacket color and the hair color of the person.
  3. Also notice the quadrant where the Eifel Tower sign is located.
  4. When the game starts, the person and the Eifel Tower sign are cleared for a moment.
  5. When they reappear, tap on the correct person. Then tap on the quadrant where the Eifel Tower has been.
  1. Objective: The objective of Battleship is to be the first player to sink all of your opponent’s ships
  2. First place all battleships on the Strategy Panel grid. The location of your ships is secret to your opponent.
  3. Players take turns calling out coordinates (e.g., B5) to “fire” at their opponent’s grid.
  4. If a player’s shot hits an opponent’s ship, its location is marked on their grid with the red color.
  5. If the shot misses, the miss coordinate is marked on their tracking grid by the green color.
  6. When all the squares of a ship are hit, the ship is “sunk.”
  7. The game ends when one player sinks all of their opponent’s ships.
  1. Mahjong is a tile-based game. The objective of the game is to find matching pairs of tiles.
  2. Easier variations (e.g., Monument) allow you to select matching tiles located anywhere. More difficult variations (e.g., Classic) force you to start with the center tile located on the top of the pyramid.
  3. The program simplifies this rule: if you are to attempt to select a tile that does not fit the permitted parameters, a yellow outline will not form and you will not be able to select it.
  4. The game continues until there are no more tiles on the board.
  5. When the game ends, the program calculates your score based on speed, matching special tiles (i.e., flowers or seasons), and accuracy.

The goal of Spider Solitaire is to arrange all the cards in each suit from King to Ace in descending order (King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace).
The game starts with ten piles of cards, with the top card of each pile face-up.
You can move one card at a time or the complete sequence of face-up cards.
The new location of the moved cards must be such that all cards are in descending order and of the same suit.
When you create a complete descending sequence of cards of the same suit – King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace – it is automatically removed. Once a pile is removed, you can move any card or sequence of cards into the empty space, thus revealing face-down cards.
When there are no moves left, you can deal additional cards from the stockpile. One card is dealt to each pile.
The game continues until you have successfully arranged all cards in descending order from King to Ace for each suit.

  1. The goal of Pyramid Solitaire is to clear the pyramid by removing pairs of cards that add up to a total of 13. Ace=1, Jack=11. Queen-12. King=13. For example, you can remove the following pairs: Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, and so on. The King card be removed on its own by tapping on the King card.
  2. You must find these pairs from only the cards at the bottom of the pyramid (any card at the bottom that is not covered by another card, can be selected) as well as the shuffled deck featured underneath.
  3. You can sort through this deck by clicking on it.
  4. If you have no cards left in the pyramid, then you have won the game.

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