Dr. Cay Anderson-Hanley, of
“We found that, for older adults, virtual-reality enhanced interactive exercise - or ‘cybercycling’ two to three times per week for 3 months - yielded greater cognitive benefit and perhaps added protection against mild cognitive impairment than a similar dose of traditional exercise”, she said.
Dr. Marie Janson, of Alzheimer’s Research
“We already know that exercise is an important way to keep body and mind healthy. The results from this small study suggest that combining physical and mental exercise through exergaming (playing active video games) could have even more beneficial effects on cognition in older adults than normal exercise alone. Larger and more detailed studies will be needed to get to the bottom of exactly what aspect of exergaming could be giving the benefit but the early results are very interesting. Although it may be unrealistic to expect people to invest in exergaming technology, the findings show that both mental and physical exercise are important in keeping our minds active in old age. With 820,000 people in the
Dr. Anderson-Hanley, in concluding remarks, said:
“Navigating a 3D landscape, anticipating turns and competing with others require additional focus, expanded divided attention and enhanced decision-making. The implication of our study is that older adults who choose exergaming with interactive physical and cognitive exercise over traditional exercise may garner added cognitive benefit, and perhaps prevent decline, all for the same exercise effort.”
