13 October 2008

See? I'm Not Wasting My Time

Gaming Makes Grown-Ups Safer Drivers

So says the headline on the Discovery News article.

Allstate and Posit say they have science on their side. Ten hours of game play turns the clock back 10 years in terms of memory, useful field of view, processing visual information, and general cognitive functions, say both companies.

Increased mental acuity leads to safer drivers. Studies, some 20 years old, funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of Alabama show that similar video games cut the risk of a crash by 50 percent.

The training doesn't only make better drivers, but "it raises the overall quality of life," said Warden. "The benefits are not just in physical activities like driving a car, but also in remembering things more often to have fewer senior moments."


If anyone needs me, I'll be playing a video game keeping my mind limbered up.

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