Summary: A large-scale study has found that playing video games boosts mental powers, but has no impact on mental health, while training improves cognitive well-being without affecting thinking. After playing video games and filling out a life study, over 1, 000 members took cognitive testing.
The results revealed that regular players had cognitive skills comparable to those who were 13.7 years younger, while those who adhered to WHO practice recommendations were more likely to experience less anxiety and depression. This study provides important insights into how various aspects of physical activity and video gaming affect mental health and emotional well-being.
Important Information:
- Consistent video game improved thinking but had no impact on mental health.
- Exercise improved psychological well-being but had no influence on mental skills.
- Gamers averaged a performance that was 13.7 decades younger in terms of cognitive development.
Origin: University of Western Ontario
According to a large-scale research, playing video games may improve your mental abilities and training may help you with your mental health, but not the other method around.
The brain and body review, a partnership between Western University and the Science and Industry Museum for the Manchester Science Festival, includes the surprising studies. A draft of the job is , published , on , PsyArXiv.
More than 2, 000 people from all over the world signed up for the review, which asked them to finish a life survey, followed by Creyos online mind games that accurately assess various cognitive functions, including memory, attention, logic, and verbal abilities.
The research, spearheaded by Western’s famous physicist Adrian Owen, showed that among nearly 1, 000 people who finished all the tasks, playing video games had a positive impact on an individual’s consciousness, but did not seem to affect their emotional health.
Exercising more than 150 minutes per week, in accordance with the World Health Organization ( WHO ) guidelines, however, was seen to improve mental well-being but had no effect on cognition.
” Playing video games was associated with improved , mental abilities , but no better or worse mental heath, whereas more physical action was associated with increased mental health but no better or worse mental health”, said Owen, a teacher in , mental neuroscience , and imaging at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine &, Dentistry.
According to results of the study, people who frequently play video games ( five or more hours per week for a single type of , game ) performed cognitively, on average, like people who were 13.7 years younger. People who played video games sparingly ( less than 5 hours per week across all genres ) came out as 5 years younger.
Participants who adhered to or exceeded the WHO’s recommendations for 150 minutes of physical activity per week were 12 % more likely to report having no signs of depression and 9 % more likely to have no symptoms of anxiety.
The data also suggest that these differences in , mental health , were not driven by the severely depressed or anxious individuals in the study, rather,  , physical activity , made the greatest difference at the lower end of both scales where symptoms were either mild or absent altogether.
Brain-body connection
Despite the seemingly unfathomable examples of a brain-body connection, such as how being “hangry” affects ability to concentrate, how stress causes muscles to relax, and how brain and body interactions can be compared to one another, little is known about how the brain and body interact with one another.
The Western team gained more insight into how lifestyle affects our brains ‘ long-term health after taking the survey.
The conclusions of this study, according to Owen, could guide all of us in choosing activities that promote healthy cognitive aging.
Details of the findings will be presented by Owen at the Science and Industry Museum on Oct. 19 as part of the , Manchester Science Festival, running from Oct. 18 to 27. In order to follow up these findings, festival visitors will also have the chance to participate in a pilot study.
While the , online survey , focused on long-term effects, the Western team will be inviting festival-goers to help them in a , pilot study  , to examine short-term improvements to cognition as a result of exercise and gaming.
In a commission the Squidsoup collective made for the festival, Owen will also offer commentary on how the brain interprets light and sound. Inspired by the work of Piet Mondrian,” State of Mind” is a three-dimensional arrangement of LED lights within an intriguing and informative soundscape.
About this information on mental health and cognition research
Author: Jeff Renaud
Source: University of Western Ontario
Contact: Jeff Renaud – University of Western Ontario
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
The Brain and Body Study, by Conor J. Wild and al.,” Characterizing the Cognitive and Mental Health Benefits of Exercise and Video Game Playing.” PsyArXiv
Abstract
The Brain and Body Study: Characterizing the Cognitive and Mental Health Benefits of Exercise and Video Game Playing
Exercise and video gaming are frequently touted as simple and effective ways to improve brain function and/or protect it from age-related decline, two of the most actively studied modifiable lifestyle factors.
However, some important lingering questions and inconsistent methods make it difficult to determine what, if any, effects of exercise and video gaming might have on brain health.
In a global online study of over 1000 people, we collected data about participants ‘ physical activity levels, time spent playing video games, mental health, and cognitive performance using tests of short-term memory, verbal abilities, and reasoning skills from the Creyos battery.
More physical activity was associated with better mental health as measured by the PHQ-2 and GAD-2 screeners for depression and anxiety, though there was no significant relationship between the amount of regular physical activity and cognitive performance.
In contrast, we discovered that playing video games had no bearing on mental health and was related to better cognitive performance.
We come to the conclusion that different effects of exercise and video gaming have on the brain, which may help people make informed decisions about their lifestyles to promote mental and cognitive health, respectively, throughout their entire lives.
