How to Exercise Both Your Brain and Body

Games that combine virtual reality and exercise may have the potential to improve cognition in older people. Here’s how you can exercise your brain and body.

Video games aren’t just for kids these days. The industry has rapidly expanded into virtual reality and exercise, with a surge of adults wearing PlayStation VR or Oculus headsets to get a workout playing games such as Beat Saver and Supernatural.

The headsets, if you haven’t tried one, make you feel as if you’re immersed in the game’s environment.

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Virtual reality setups may enhance exercise as a way to stay sharp as you age, according to a small clinical trial. In the study, 15 volunteers engaged in exercise games (“exergames”) twice a week for 12 weeks, improving their cognitive performance on tests. A control group exercised without the headsets and didn’t improve as much.

In a meta-analysis covering 18 randomized controlled trials involving volunteers over 60, researchers concluded that “exergames can provide potential positive influences on cognition, memory, and depression.”

Commercial virtual reality games had the most impact.

The case for brain-training games

Some games are designed to boost specific mental skills.

Brain training can improve your performance on tests in experiments, as the American Psychological Association points out. Enhancing a basic resource like working memory may sharpen other skills, such as visual recognition.

With practice, older people can become better at switching between tasks within a game and match or beat the performance of younger players, researchers concluded.

“The brain is not a muscle, but like our bodies, if we work out and train it, we can improve our mental performance,” said lead author Mark Steyvers, PhD, a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine.

Video games and your brain

Lack of exercise is a risk factor for mental decline. Any device that makes you exercise more is a good thing, as long as you don’t injure yourself.

Evidence also suggests that playing video games, even without exercise, can boost your mental skills.

Brain scan evidence suggests that professional players have distinct alterations in brain regions linked to improved attention and mental control. Avid non-professional gamers also show improved attention and visual motor skills.

On the other hand, people who qualify as having an addiction show the deficits in control you might expect.

Virtual reality games have already entered the medical world for patients as rehabilitation tools. Most games are designed to engage patients in physical challenges, usually because they have injuries or pain.

But games may evolve to promote mental skills. Programs created to boost mental functioning during everyday tasks have helped stroke patients.

Now that more people are receiving online medical care, including psychological services, providers may find it easier to suggest online programs to patients. One possibility is virtual reality exposure therapy, in which people with phobias can be gradually exposed to spiders or heights.

The best ways to stay sharp

In the meantime, scientists have a good idea of the risk factors for cognitive decline, some of which you can minimize. You’ll lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease if you follow diets that emphasize plants compared to a standard U.S. diet that may be heavy in red meat, sugar, and processed food.

You can choose between:

• The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fish
• The DASH diet to fight high blood pressure
• A combination of the two called MIND, which adds leafy greens and berries and includes wine

Good strategies for an alert old age include:

• Staying physically active
• Getting enough sleep
• Managing stress
• Maintaining social connections
• Steering clear of alcohol, nicotine, and opioids
• Doing puzzles and brainteasers, such as Sudoku, crosswords, and word jumbles

If you find yourself exercising more with a VR headset, more power to you. If you socialize through gaming, that’s good, too.

But there’s still a case for getting outside in the sun to exercise and encounter people in the flesh.

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