Good at Guitar Hero and Shoot-'Em-Ups? May You Live To Be 100+
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete....html?ITO=1490
Quote:
People's reaction times are a far better indicator of their chances of living a long life than their blood pressure, exercise levels or weight, researchers have discovered.
Men and women with the most sluggish response times are more than twice as likely to die prematurely. . . .
The 7,414 volunteers in the study have been followed since the mid-Eighties, when their reaction times were measured with an electrical device fitted with a small screen and five numbered buttons.
The volunteers had to press the matching button when a number appeared on screen. The time they took to react was measured and averages worked out. . . .
The researchers said: "It has been hypothesised that reaction time, as a measure of speed of the brain's information-processing capacity, may be a marker for bodily system integrity.
"This way, slower reaction times, or poorer information-processing ability, might be an indication of suboptimal physiological functioning, which may in turn be related to early death."
It's not the most convincing study I've read about, but I've always thought that the zone that twitch games can put you in has to be good for your mental health and that your mental health has an astounding impact on your physical well-being. I also think if you stay interested in video games as you get older and get sucked more into mundane "grown-up" activities, you'll have a leg up on happiness and fulfillment. Not that it's the only or the best path, but it does help keep your mind sharp and it does help keep you looking forward to the next challenge.
