Playing action video games for an hour significantly boosts alertness: Study

People generally play video games for fun or sometimes to kill time, but a new study has linked gaming, especially action gaming, to increased ‘attentional alertness’.

Over a third of the global population plays video games, either on mobile, PCs or gaming consoles. This has led scientists to ponder over the impact of gaming on our minds.

“It has come to our attention that college students frequently play mobile video games during class breaks, asserting an enhanced sense of concentration following these short gaming sessions,” explained Biye Wang, Jiahui Jiang, and Wei Guo, the three authors of the study published in PeerJ.

How was the research conducted?

To conduct the research, 72 undergraduate students from China’s Yangzhou University were selected based on specific criteria: playing video games for no more than two hours weekly in the past six months, right-handedness, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and no history of brain injuries or psychiatric/neurological disorders.

The students were divided into two groups, with one playing the multiplayer online battle arena game "Honor of Kings" and the other engaging in the mobile card game "Happy Poker" for 60 minutes.

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"Honor of Kings" was chosen for its attention-demanding nature, requiring quick decision-making and multitasking.

Using the Attention Network Test before and after the gaming sessions, the researchers assessed participants' attention abilities.

Results

Results indicated that the action game players showed a significant enhancement in 'alerting network efficiency,' a component of attention related to preparedness and maintaining heightened sensitivity to incoming information.

Such improvements were absent in the card game group, underscoring the relevance of game type.

These findings suggest that even a brief session of mobile action gaming can positively impact cognitive function, specifically alertness.

The authors propose that the strategic demands of the game may contribute to this cognitive boost by necessitating constant shifts between broad surveillance and focussed attention.

“The most surprising thing is that it doesn’t require long-term training, just a short session of mobile action video game is enough to alter attentional network functions,” the researchers were quoted as saying by PsyPost.

“Rather than passively consuming information through short videos on mobile phones during fragmented time intervals, why not engage in a short session of mobile action video games? This form of entertainment may not only provide leisure but also enhance attentional functions, at least according to findings from the present study.”

(With inputs from agencies)