Crosswords do better than video games to stimulate the memory of the elderly! This is the result of a new American study which looked at elderly people suffering from memory, thinking or judgment disorders, which are called mild cognitive disorders. The details of Martin Ducret, doctor and journalist at Doctor’s Daily.
franceinfo: What exactly does this study say?
Martin Ducret: In this study, the authors compared the improvement in the cognitive abilities of a hundred seniors with mild cognitive impairment, aged on average 70 years, for a year and a half. Half of them were playing online crossword puzzles, and the other half were playing puzzle video games, which we call “serious games”. Result of the races: crosswords allowed a greater cognitive improvement than video games. Results that surprised the authors of this work.
They did not expect such a conclusion?
No, rather the opposite. Their starting hypothesis was based on previous studies, including one in particular that showed greater effectiveness of puzzle video games compared to crosswords. But in this study, the patients had no cognitive impairment and were on average much younger.
The authors therefore assume that crossword puzzles are probably more familiar and less complex than video games for older people who suffer from cognitive impairment. On the other hand, they presume that video games are more effective in stimulating the gray matter of younger, healthy patients, more accustomed to this type of game than to crosswords.
So it’s better to play a game that you know, to strengthen your brain?
Yes quite. Dr. Antoine Piau, Geriatrician at the Toulouse University Hospital confirmed this to me: “Playing a puzzle game – video games, digital or paper-based crosswords – can improve and stimulate the cognitive abilities of the brain in a fun way, especially in the elderly.”
But Dr. Piau especially insisted on the importance of the socialization of seniors: like talking with his neighbor, going out to buy his bread or even doing group activities, a bridge club or a sports club for example. Knowing that a third of people over 60 in France say they frequently feel alone, leaving their homes to interact with other people is therefore essential to slow down the effects of brain aging.
Bibliographic references
– The barometer October 2021 loneliness and isolation of the Little Brothers of the Poor
– The study of the Evidence Nejm site
– The study of the Frontiers in Neurology site