Computer games aren’t just for kids–at least they shouldn’t be. A Mayo Clinic study to be published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older adults who spent an hour a day in front of a challenging brain-boosting game significantly improved their memory.

One big surprise from the findings is that the computer game wasn’t specifically designed to improve memory. Rather, the exercises were developed to improve the speed and accuracy of mental processing. “What’s unique in this study is that brain-processing activities seemed to help aspects of memory that were not directly exercised by the program,” explained Mayo Clinic neuropsychologist Glenn Smith, PhD, who led the research.

The Mayo researchers used a computer game created by the San Francisco-based company PositScience, which supported the study. Previous research has shown that older volunteers who used another of the company’s computer exercises improved their driving skills, reducing their risk of automobile crashes by half. Drivers trained on the brain-boosting programs were also able to hang onto their driver’s licenses longer. You can try out PositScience’s brain challenging programs yourself–and buy them if you’re willing to fork out $400 and $900–on their website.

 

Tags: brain processing speed, computer games, memory, PositScience