A large-scale study has found that video games can boost your cognitive abilities, and exercise can play a role in improving your mental health – but not the other way around.
The surprising findings were part of the Brain and Body study, a collaboration between Western University and the Museum of Science and Industry as part of the Manchester Science Festival. The findings have been published on PsyArXiv.
More than 2,000 participants from around the world signed up for the study, which involved asking them to complete a lifestyle questionnaire before playing the online brain games Creyos, which accurately measure aspects of cognitive ability such as memory, attention, reasoning and verbal ability.
The study, led by renowned Western neuroscientist Adrian Owen, found that among around 1,000 people who completed all the tasks, video games had a positive impact on a person’s cognitive abilities, but did not appear to impact their mental health.
It was also observed that physical exercise lasting more than 150 minutes per week, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, improved mental well-being but had no effect on cognitive abilities.