Video games have gotten a bad rap over the years. Children are always begging for more time while parents discourage it. However recent studies indicate there are cognitive benefits to playing video games. This is particularly useful for aging seniors.
5 Amazing Benefits of Playing Video Games for Seniors
As you age, life slows down. Your body slows down and your brain slows down. Playing video games may be a great way to keep your mind as healthy as it can be. Consider the following benefits of video games for seniors at home or in assisted living:
1) Improves Visual Processing
Video games require players to visually track across the screen and interpret data. This helps the brain to get better and better at visual processing and distinguishing subtle differences in color.
2) Increases Mental Flexibility
Playing a video game forces the player to switch quickly between different tasks with the least amount of errors. This helps aging brains remain nimble and flexible.
3) Reverses the Mental Decline of Aging
By keeping the brain active in many different functions, video games help seniors reverse some of the effects of aging on the brain. These effects include attention, working memory, abstract reasoning, and the aforementioned mental flexibility.
4) Better Short-Term Memory
Frequently repeated video gameplay also helps improve short-term memory. It can help seniors better remember things like names, phone numbers, and dates and times. When senior’s play video games, they are, in effect, exercising the brain’s ability to remember.
5) Easier to Multitask
Many video games require the player to keep track of multiple groups of information and perform various tasks simultaneously. For seniors, this helps them be able to multitask better. To keep various tasks and bits of information in their mind at the same time.
Calling All Senior Gamers
While too much of anything is never a good thing, it turns out playing video games can be good for the brain. This is particularly helpful for aging seniors. There are even games being produced specifically for cognitive development. Encourage your senior loved ones to become gamers and enjoy the many benefits of video games for seniors.
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