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Video games are not just a source of entertainment. They can also be a way to improve cognitive abilities. This is according to a study carried out by Western University in collaboration with the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. The findings, published as part of the Manchester Science Festival, show that playing video games can have a positive impact on cognition, but not necessarily on mental health.
The study Canadian, entitled “Brain and Body”, involved more than 2,000 participants from all over the world. They were asked to complete a lifestyle questionnaire, followed by online games designed to measure different aspects of cognition, such as memory, attention, reasoning and verbal skills. The results are surprising: playing video games improves cognitive abilities, but has no notable effect on mental health.
According to the data collected, people who play video games frequently (five hours or more per week for a single type of game) have cognitive abilities equivalent to those of people 13.7 years younger. In contrast, those who play less than five hours per week of various types of games have cognitive abilities equivalent to those of people 5.2 years younger.
“Playing video games is associated with improved cognitive abilities, but not with improvement or deterioration in mental health, while increasing physical activity is associated with improved mental health, but not an improvement or deterioration in cognitive health“, explains Adrian Owen, professor at Western University.
The study also looked at the impact of exercise on mental health. Participants who met or exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of 150 minutes of physical activity per week were 12% more likely to have no symptoms of depression and 9% more likely to have no symptoms of anxiety.
These differences in mental health were not primarily due to 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 benefits of video games. And if the health of the youngest is often questioned, it is gamers over 45 who play video games more than the Z, says a study.