It’s not just brain-training games that should appeal to pensioners, according to new research. It seems that “exergames” – entertaining video games that combine game play with exercise - can help fight off depression often brought on by old age.

 

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine ran tests on 19 adults, aged between 63 and 94, suffering with the condition to see how gaming helped. The findings showed that more than a third experienced a drop of over 50 per cent in their depressive symptoms as a result of playing video games regularly.


 “The study suggests encouraging results from the use of the exergames,” says Dilip V. Jeste, MD, Distinguished Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine. “Many had a significant improvement in their mental health-related quality of life and increased cognitive stimulation.”


The participants had a specific condition called subsyndromal depression, which comes with substantial suffering, functional disability, and increased use of costly medical services. And staff at the school of medicine gave them exergames to use three times a week in 35 minute sessions. The games included  tennis, bowling, baseball, golf or boxing on the Nintendo Wii.


The findings also showed that the games helped the sufferers overcome a natural reluctance to stick with exercise programmes. “Depression predicts nonadherence to physical activity, and that is a key barrier to most exercise programs,” says Jeste. “Older adults with depression may be at particular risk for diminished enjoyment of physical activity, and therefore, more likely to stop exercise programs prematurely.”


The adults particularly enjoyed moving their arms and upper bodies when swinging the Wii remote - a wireless device with motion-sensing capabilities - to play the tennis video game. Jeste says: “The participants thought the exergames were fun, they felt challenged to do better and saw progress in their game play.” He cautioned, however, that the findings were based on a small study, and needed to be replicated in larger samples using control groups. He also stressed that exergames carry potential risks of injury, and should be practiced with appropriate care.