Online brain training 'helps older adults with everyday tasks'
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34708132
They help pass many an idle moment, but a new study suggests that internet games could serve a higher purpose.
Scientists have found that regular use of an online brain-training programme significantly improved memory and reasoning in the over 50s, and life skills - such as shopping and managing money - in the over 60s. Researchers from the Alzheimer's Society now want to see if such games can cut the risk of dementia and are looking for volunteers for a new study.
Jill Walton is a volunteer who has already agreed to take part.
Some of the volunteers were encouraged to play online brain training games for 10 minutes at a time, as often as they wished. The others - the control group - were asked to do simple internet searches. The researchers tested the subjects on a series of medically recognised cognitive tests at baseline and then again at three months and six months to see if there was any detectable difference between the groups. The researchers found after six months, those who played "brain training" games for reasoning and problem-solving kept their broader cognitive skills better than those who did not.
The benefit appeared to kick in when people played the games at least five times a week. And people over 60 who played these games reported better scores for carrying out essential everyday tasks, the Journal of Post-acute and Long Term Care Medicine reports.
But an earlier analysis by the same researchers suggests brain training has no benefit in people younger than 50.
Read more at: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34701907
