Digital puzzle games have been demonstrated to help elderly folks maintain their mental acuity and recall. Digital puzzle games have been demonstrated in studies to improve attention, focus, cognitive flexibility, and working memory in older individuals. As these games demand players to recall game mechanics, pay attention to details, and employ problem-solving abilities to solve problems, they also aid in reducing age-related memory deterioration.
Additionally, research show that playing online puzzle games helps keep seniors intellectually stimulated and interested. They can meet people who share their interests in gaming, which can be a terrific way for them to socialize. Finally, playing digital puzzle games might assist seniors maintain their memory and cognition.
A recent University of York study found that older adults who play strategy games had lower memory and attention than those who play digital puzzle games.
Working memory peaks between 20 and 30 before declining with age.
Dr. Fiona McNab of York University’s Department of Psychology said, “A lot of research has focused on action games because it is believed that reacting quickly, keeping track of targets, and other similar skills aid attention and memory, but our new analysis shows that the action elements do not seem to offer significant benefits to younger adults.”
Older and younger persons who would typically play video games in their “real lives” participated in the study, which was published in the journal Heliyon.
As a consequence, a variety of activities as well as a computer experiment in which participants had to memorize images while being distracted were evaluated.
According to Dr. Joe Cutting of the University of York’s Department of Computer Science, “Puzzle games for older people had this surprising ability to support mental capabilities to the extent that memory and concentration levels were the same as a 20 year-old who had not played puzzle games.”
However, if they just played strategy games, older persons were more likely to forget information committed to memory while being distracted, while young people were less adept at concentrating attention if they only played puzzle games.
Future research might examine why there is a variation in how different game genres affect players depending on their age and whether this is related to the way that the brain accumulates knowledge as we get older, according to the authors.
Conclusion:-
A study from the University of York found that older adults who play digital puzzle games may preserve their memory and cognitive function as they age. However, strategy games do not offer the same benefits in memory or attention as digital puzzle games. Working memory peak between 20-30, and action elements do not seem to offer significant benefits to younger adults.
