Other Sites

Boost Your Brain Power With Video Games

Are you getting on in your years? I don’t know about you but it is pretty obvious to me how age can take its toll physically. Only a couple years ago, I could stay up late all night and be fully functional the next day. These days, I tend to sleep in more if I stay up late. There are days when I can barely even think straight in the morning. That’s what age does to you…

Just think about the idea that the older you get, the more dying brain cells you have. That just plain sucks! I mean, if you can’t go jumping around like you did when you were in your early 20s, you should at least be able to keep a very sharp mind, right? It does not work that way, though – unless you actually engage in activities to keep yourself mentally alert.

Here is the good news: you can boost your brain power by playing video games! Yes, that is not a misprint. Indeed, a recent study has shown compelling proof that “playing complex video games after receiving training may improve the cognitive functions that typically decline with age.” The detailed results of this study were published in the December issue of Psychology and Aging. And for the benefit of the skeptics, this study was NOT funded by the gaming industry.

Then again, the answers are not as clear cut as I would have liked them to be. One researcher has these parting words:

“When we look at improvements in cognition, it’s not just one thing that’s affecting, it’s all integrative. There are many factors that go into it.”