Mental abilities play an important role in human life. We must quickly extract the necessary information, solve various problems at school and work, and memorize addresses and phone numbers, poems, and a foreign language. But each person’s mental abilities are different. The effectiveness of games in improving memory has been scientifically proven.
The Concept Of Cognitive Functions
Cognitive functions are the ability of the human brain to study, perceive, understand, and process information and then memorize and retrieve it from memory. The level of intelligence and erudition depends on cognitive functions. The more effectively all cognitive functions function in a complex, the higher the intellectual abilities.
Memory is a property of the brain to store and retrieve received information of any kind: text, sound, video, or event. Short-term memory allows you to store information of a small amount for a short period, and then, under certain conditions, it is transformed into a long-term one. The memorization process consists of three stages, in each of which a malfunction may occur:
- encoding of received data;
- storage of information without partial loss of data;
- extraction of information (property to remember).
Understanding is responsible for the ability of a person to understand the meaning of the information received and to assimilate it correctly. It is a state of mind in which the importance of the received material is clear and understandable to a person.
Perception is also an important cognitive function, thanks to which a person, having received information about an object as a whole, can form a general image (in the aggregate of all available properties).
The Benefits Of Video Games To Stimulate The Brain
Many children and adults spend varying amounts of time playing video games. Some people believe that games to improve the memory can negatively affect mental performance. But this is far from true. Researchers have empirically proven that many games positively affect the efficiency of cognitive functions.
Participants who regularly played video games performed much better and faster on the tasks. After all, games to improve the memory require visual attentiveness, concentration, good memory, and a quick reaction to ongoing actions on the screen. In addition, during the game, the participants underwent brain studies using scanning of various parts of it. Such a scan is carried out using MRI or X-ray technology, making it possible to observe the degree of activity of all brain parts at rest and in a state of mental stress. During the game, the participants were most activated by those brain parts responsible for memory, attention, and problem-solving. That is, during games to improve memory, a person automatically trains cognitive properties, as they say, brain pumping. Thus, there is a causal relationship between video games and cognitive enhancement.
Of course, only some things have been thoroughly studied, and a measure is needed. The obvious benefits of video games do not mean playing for many hours a day because the mental regression associated with overwork and overexertion will begin. And in such a state, a person’s cognitive abilities weaken, and information is worse remembered and reproduced. It is believed that for the game to improve memory, it is enough to spend no more than:
- 1 hour for children under 9;
- 2 hours for children aged 10-13;
- 3 hours for teenagers from 14 years old and adults.
We draw your attention to the fact that taking breaks during a long game is recommended rather than starting immediately from challenging levels. It’s like sports loads that need to be increased gradually and not directly loaded with complex gaming tasks. It is especially true for older people. By the way, observations were made during the game of older people aged 55-75 years, and it turned out that their brain activity during the game was equal to that of young people.
Best Mobile Game
Currently, various games are hosted on gaming platforms: dynamic, intellectual, cognitive, developing, mindfulness, and others. For example, there is a game to improve memory called memoryOS that can significantly improve your cognitive abilities. memoryOS is co-founded by Jonas von Essen, a two-time world memory champion. Not everyone is given to be world champions, but most will be able to increase their mental activity.
In addition to the fact that video games are an entertaining pastime, they also significantly improve the cognitive characteristics of a person, regardless of age.
