A new preprint study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, has suggested that playing video games is associated with better cognitive abilities, but does not appear to affect measures of mental health; while exercise is associated with better measures of mental health but not cognitive ability.
Over the last decade, various studies on preventative medicine have explored which lifestyle factors can be modified to improve cognitive and mental health. Video games and exercise are factors featured frequently in this work. The former has often been cited as a way to enhance cognitive ability by improving our ability to store and recall information, problem-solve, and communicate. Similarly, exercise has often been linked to positive effects on mental health and well-being, decreasing feelings of depression and anxiety.
It is unsurprising, then, that a booming industry focused on various products and lifestyle advice has sprung up around the scientific interest in preserving brain function – but the ways that playing video games and exercise impact our brains have not been fully explored.
To address this, researchers collaborated on the Brain and Body study. They recruited over 2,000 participants from across the world who were asked to completed demographic, clinical and psychological questionnaires as well as a questionnaire that measured the amount of physical activity they performed each week.
They were then asked to play Creyos online brain games, designed to measure different aspects of cognition, including memory, attention, reasoning, and verbal abilities.
The results showed that out of the roughly 1,000 participants who completed all tasks, playing video games had a positive impact on an individual’s cognition, but not their mental health. In contrast, exercising over 150 minutes a week – as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – improved mental health but did not impact cognition.
“Playing video games was associated with improved cognitive abilities but not better or worse mental health, whereas more physical activity was associated with improved mental health but not better or worse cognitive health,” Adrian Owen, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, explained in a statement.
The study found that participants who played a single type of video game for five hours or more per week performed cognitively, on average, like people who were 13.7 years younger. Those who played less frequently – less than 5 hours per week – across all kinds of games performed like people who are 5.2 years younger.
At the same time, those who achieved or exceeded the 150 minutes of exercise WHO recommendation per week were 12 percent more likely to report having no symptoms of depression and 9 percent less likely to report symptoms of anxiety.
Although the data obtained for this study relied on self-reported information, which may be biased, the results nevertheless could help us understand more about how the body and the mind are connected.
“The results of this study could help all of us choose activities that promote healthy cognitive aging,” Owen added.
The preprint paper is posted to PsyArXiv, and details will be presented at the Science and Industry Museum on October 19 as part of the Manchester Science Festival.
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