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Home / Exercising or gaming? What brings most benefits to brain health?
by Daniel Earnshaw, Assistant Psychologist (Research) at Brainkind
Physical exercise has been found to be beneficial to a variety of cognitive functions such as working memory and reaction times [2] and to improve cognition for those with cognitive impairments [3] as well as those who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury or a stroke [4]. Additionally, exercise may also be beneficial to mental health, helping to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety [5, 6]. As well as Wild’s study, other researchers have begun to explore the beneficial effects of playing video games on cognition [7]. So, what do we know so far about this?
In their study, Wild and colleagues [1] aimed to compare exercise and video games and their impact on cognition and mental health. They asked participants to self-report how much exercise they did in the last week as well as how many hours a week they spent gaming. The then compared mood and cognition scores between those who did or did not meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines on the recommended amount of physical activity (which are at least 150 minutes per week), and non-gamers (0 hours per week), infrequent gamers (0-3 hours per week), and frequent gamers (3+ hours per week). The cognition measure was the 12-task Creyos battery (see here if you’re interested), which evaluates performance in a variety of cognitive domains such as visuospatial working memory, verbal reasoning, planning, and response inhibition. Mental health was measured with two short questionnaires asking about anxiety and depression widely used in healthcare settings.
Their findings were very interesting, as both video games and exercise were beneficial, but in different ways! Video games were beneficial for cognition whereas exercise was beneficial for mental health. With the finding that exercise was not associated with cognitive performance being one of the most remarkable ones, as there is plenty of literature that would suggest otherwise.
Wild and colleagues pointed out a few limitations in their study, and there are some other aspects to consider. Firstly, the type of exercise that participants engaged in was not reported, although there is evidence to suggest that different types of exercise (for example, aerobic vs. resistance exercises [8]) can have differing effects on cognition and the environment in which exercise takes place in [9] and whether exercise is leisurely or competitive [10], can change the extent to which the exercise benefits mental health. Furthermore, the categorical nature of the exercise variable did not allow comparisons between participants who exercised above the recommended WHO guidelines. However, Wild and colleagues did highlight that studies have shown that this “criteria met / not met” dichotomous scoring may be preferable to a continuous variable like minutes of exercise.
The type of games people played was also not considered in the analyses as, the researchers reported, there were not enough participants playing action games to allow a robust analysis. The mode or platform on which peoplelay games (e.g. using a controller, a mouse and keyboard, a smartphone, etc.) was also not investigated, although studies suggest that this may be an important factor [11, 12].
Wild and colleagues’ study focused on healthy individuals, which means that we do not know if these results would generalise to people with neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, neurodevelopmental disorders, those who reported multiple concussions or those with cancer, as a diagnosis of any of these conditions was a criterion for exclusion. This is because these conditions can affect both physical activity and cognition, therefore further research would be needed to clarify the relationships between physical exercise, gaming, mood and cognition in these groups.
Exercise is often used as a form of therapy for those engaged in rehabilitation after a brain injury, and video games and immersive virtual reality environments are becoming more commonly used in rehabilitation practice. However, to date the evidence that video games are effective on those with a brain injury is limited [13] and we need to learn a lot more before these tools become mainstream. Regardless of the question of effectiveness, the use of video games and virtual reality in therapy may be preferred by many service users [14] – a key consideration, as people with brain injuries have different needs, and what works for one person may not necessarily work for another. Having a variety of therapy options available can only be beneficial to achieving service excellence.
Overall, the study by Wild and colleagues has given us some interesting ideas around exercise, video games and their respective benefits. Additionally, it highlights the need for further research on the interplay between “mind exercise” and physical exercise on cognitive abilities and mood, and the benefits of combining them, especially as technology continues to evolve, offering new and promising features.
