Gaming might not improve your brain power: research

It has long been a topic of conversation. Do people really improve their reaction time and mental powers by playing a plethora of computer games? Recent research by psychologists indicates that playing games might make little difference to your mental sharpness.

Dr. Walter Boot, an assistant professor in Florida State University said “Despite the hype, in reality, there is little solid evidence that games enhance cognition at all.”

Boot and his team have analysed previous studies and claim that there are flaws with their methodology. Similar reports have pointed out that gamers tend to possess higher cognitive skills to those who don't play games. Boot has said that this is possibly not linked, because people drawn to gaming might already feature higher mental capabilities in this regard.

Boot is no stuffy professor however, he claims to have grown up playing computer games himself and was initially excited regarding reports that showed gamers having superior cognitive capabilities. He said “The idea that video games could enhance cognition was exciting because it represented one of the few cases in which cognitive training enhanced abilities that weren’t directly practiced. But we found no benefits of video game training.”

Boot said that it isn't pointless playing video games however, he added “If people are playing games to improve their cognition, they may be wasting their time, Play games because you enjoy them, not because they could boost your brain power.”

Kitguru says: Have you noticed improved reaction times after gaming?

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