When Gaming Is Good for You

[LakeGator]

This article, When Gaming Is Good for You, has some interesting perspectives about the effect of videogames on the brain that many gentle and not so gentle readers of this forum might find interesting:

Videogames can change a person's brain and, as researchers are finding, often that change is for the better.

A growing body of university research suggests that gaming improves creativity, decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night driving ability.

People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers. The studies were conducted independently of the companies that sell video and computer games.

Scientists also found that women—who make up about 42% of computer and videogame players—were better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects, a skill at which men are generally more adept. Most studies looked at adults rather than children.

[HALLGATOR]

When my father died at age 87 his body was still in pretty good shape for his age. However he developed dementia and although part of it might have been unavoidable my sisters and I tend to believe his becoming sedentary could have been a strong contributing factor.

I am 61 and although I have some lung problems the rest of my body is OK, outside of the normal aches and pains which comes with age. I play video games quite often and I still do a lot of studying. I am a fairly decent video game player, not quite as sharp as I was a few years back, but still my hand and eye coordination is not bad. Other than the obvious enjoyment of playing I also feel if nothing else goes wrong it will help me retain my mental faculties as the years progress. Now I guess that my not turn out to be what happens but I believe doing what I can to help sure can't be a bad road to go.

[Zendra]

Great. Now my boyfriend has another reason to continue paying video games for hours.

[holloffamer]

Originally Posted by Zendra

Great. Now my boyfriend has another reason to continue paying video games for hours.

Awwww, that's such a common issue in relationships.