(AFP) – Video games are not just a source of entertainment.
They can also be a means of improving cognitive skills, according to research from Western University in collaboration with Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum.
The findings, published as part of the Manchester Science Festival, suggest that playing video games can have a positive impact on cognition, but not necessarily on mental health.
This Canadian research, titled the “Brain and Body study”, involved over 2,000 participants from all over the world.
Participants were asked to fill out a lifestyle questionnaire, followed by online games designed to measure different aspects of cognition, such as memory, attention, reasoning and verbal skills.
The results were surprising: playing video games improved cognitive abilities, but had no significant effect on mental health.
According to the data collected, people who play video games frequently (five or more hours per week for a single type of game) have cognitive abilities equivalent to those of people 13.7 years younger.
On the other hand, those who play less than five hours per week across all kinds of games have cognitive abilities equivalent to those of people 5.2 years younger.
“Playing video games was associated with improved cognitive abilities but not better or worse mental health, whereas more physical activity was associated with improved mental health but not better or worse cognitive health,” said Owen, a professor in cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
Indeed, the study also examined the impact of exercise on mental health. Participants who met or exceeded the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations of 150 minutes of physical activity per week were 12 per cent more likely to have no symptoms of depression, and nine per cent more likely to have no symptoms of anxiety.
These differences in mental health were not primarily driven by the severely depressed or anxious individuals in the study. On the contrary, physical activity had the greatest impact on those whose symptoms were mild or absent.
Several studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of video games. And while the health of younger people is often the main subject of concern, according to separate research, over-45s account for the greatest share of US video gamers.
