The worldwide brain fitness industry will exceed $2 billion by 2015, according to Alvaro Fernandez, CEO of SharpBrains. While anyone can enjoy and perhaps benefit from brain training videos, senior citizens have conclusive reasons to exercise their noggins. Recent studies show seniors can benefit from improved memory and overall cognitive ability. Here are a few points to consider:
Improve your cognitive function
A study in Nature, the international weekly journal of science, suggests video games designed for brain function improvement help cognitive control. The study specifically targeted senior citizens age 60 to 85 that were observed playing a game called NeuroRacer. Seniors took to the control console for 12-hours over a month and their brain function and cognitive skills were documented. By the end of the study, the cognitive skills of the gaming seniors dramatically improved. When compared to 20-year-olds who had never played the game before, the seniors were better. Take that gaming grandkids!
But the study also showed the skills they learned from NeuroRacer improved attention and working memory in real life. This idea of skill transfer is what the researchers were really interested in. The reason behind the seniors improved performance may be a stimulation of neurogenesis, or the growth of neurons, and connectivity in the brain responsible for spatial awareness and orientation.
Improve your spatial skills
Video games and online brain puzzles can also improve spatial skills and give a boost to your physical fitness whether you’re a kid or senior citizen. Sports and fitness games like Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort give a boost to physical and spatial skills. Even someone with some impaired mobility can try their hand at a Wii sport like bowling or golfing to get your arms swinging and blood flowing.
Find emotional and cognitive balance
Video games don’t just help your cognitive functioning like memory and attention span. Consider a study conducted of 140 adults who were an average age of 77. Those who gamed reported better moods and overall health than their non-gaming counterparts. Meanwhile, the non-gamers reported more issues of depression and a negative disposition. Cognitive symptoms are prevalent in depression and can prove debilitating for people of any age. But because seniors are often less mobile and active than younger generations, they’re especially prone to depression. Additionally, problem-solving and higher thinking are often impaired and can also create issues with communication and indecisiveness.
Recharge your lifestyle
Playing video games isn’t necessarily enough to recharge your brain or combat some ailments like Alzheimer. The state of your brain, your overall health and the game itself may improve function in some senior citizens while not others. Incorporate gaming into your life as just one strategy to keeping your mind sharp and can make seniors feel less lonely than watching TV. Do aerobic exercise several times a week to help keep your brain physiology healthy and delay disease. Reading books, indulging in hobbies and doing crossword puzzles are also ways to keep your mind sharp. And a healthy diet to help focus your mind and reduce hypertension can also help keep your brain young.
