Board Games a Major Win for the Brain
Board Games a Major Win for the Brain
Board Games a Major Win for the Brain
By Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW
December 11, 2019
Summary
Playing board games may protect against cognitive decline and even boost cognitive function in seniors, new research suggests.
Results of a large, longitudinal study showed that higher frequency of playing board games, which are also known as analog games, seemed to guard against cognitive decline.
Even among individuals in their 70s, those who played more board games experienced less decline in memory and other cognitive measures compared to their counterparts who either did not play board games or who played fewer board games.
"Computerized brain training is a controversial subject at the moment, as are the effects of analog games on cognitive functions - although analog games are much less studied," Altschul said.
At age 70, 33% of participants reported playing games daily or nearly every day, and 20% played games less than once a year or never.
Lower cognitive function at age 11, female sex, higher social class, and higher educational level were associated with positive cognitive change that was calculated to be equivalent to a gain of approximately 1.42 IQ-like points per standard deviation increase in playing games.
Even after controlling for the direct and indirect associations of age 11 function, education, and social class, playing more games was still associated with higher cognitive function at age 70.
Reference
Yasgur, B. S. (2019, December 11). Board Games a Major Win for the Brain. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/922462