Video Games and Seniors

Video games that exercise the brain are becoming the new cultural phenomenon among boomers. Just as physical exercise maintains body tone, strength, and endurance, mental exercising has positive conditioning effects for people of all ages

The hot new video game “Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day” flexes the brain muscles with training exercises like simple math problems, memory and other brain puzzles. Gamers are instructed to “train” once a day and then test their brain age. The lower the better (in so much as a 20-year-old brain is more desirable than, say, a 75-year-old brain.)

The game, designed for the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) portable Gameboy, tracks a gamer’s progress and provides updates on improvement. Using voice commands and handwritten responses, the game produces increasingly challenging exercises and puzzles. Mental “work outs” include counting people going in and out of a house simultaneously, drawing pictures on the Touch Screen and reading classical literature out loud. Gamers also have the option to play Sudoku, the popular puzzle game.

“Brain age is launching at a time when Canadians clearly feel the need to keep their minds alive,” said Ron Bertram, Vice President –General Manager, Nintendo Canada. “Nintendo of Canada’s recent survey on mind and body fitness found that more Canadians recognize the importance of keeping their minds fit (85 per cent) than their bodies (79 per cent). With Brain Age, people of all ages can flex their mental muscles daily, even those with little or no video experience.”

The same survey, conducted by Decima Research, found that 90 per cent of Canadians feel that solving puzzles and playing board games are good for stimulating the mind.

“Nintendo’s Brain Age could be just one element of a brain healthy lifestyle that includes mental stimulation, physical exercise, social interaction, and a brain healthy diet,” said Dr. Sharon Cohen, Director, Toronto Memory Program and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto. “Brain Age is a great way for people to challenge their mental flexibility.”

Inspired by prominent Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima, Brain Age is built around the use of real-time imaging which can track which portions of the brain are being used while doing different things. While traditional video games stimulate portions of the brain used for movement and vision, brain games stimulate the important frontal lobes where learning, memory, emotion and impulse control take place.

A Japanese version of the game has sold more than two million copies and is being used in Japanese hospitals and memory clinics to provide patients with a fun and easy mental workout.

Research indicates mental acuity can be strengthened similar to muscles with brain exercises. Major studies on aging over the past 25 years (Svanborg and colleagues in Sweden, Duke University, and the National Institute on Aging) support the findings that "mental (and physical) decline with aging is not inevitable".

The American Alzheimer’s Society offers these ten tips to maintain mental fitness:

1. Head first. Good health starts with your brain. It’s one of the most important body organs and needs care and maintenance.

2. Take brain health To heart. Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s.

3. Numbers count. Keep your body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels within recommended ranges.

4. Feed your brain. Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet that features dark-skinned vegetables and fruits, foods rich in antioxidants, vitamins E and C, B12, folate and Omega-3 fatty acids.

5. Work your body. Physical exercise keeps the blood flowing and encourages new brain cells. It doesn’t have to be a strenuous activity; do what you can—walking 30 minutes a day—to keep both body and mind active.

6. Jog your mind. Keeping your brain active and engaged increases its vitality and builds reserves of brain cells and connections. Read, write, play games, do crossword puzzles.

7. Connect with others. Leisure activities that combine physical, mental and social elements are most likely to prevent dementia. Be social, converse, volunteer, join.

8. Heads up! Protect Your Brain. Take precautions against injuries. Use your car seat belts, de-clutter your house to avoid falls, and wear a helmet when cycling.

9. Use your head. Avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking excessive alcohol or using street drugs.

10. Think ahead. You can do something today to protect your tomorrow.



thanks to Cynthia Ross Cravit for this great article