Mental Health
Science Just Redeemed Your Screen Time
Author:Zhané SlambeeJuly 10, 2026
mindbodygreen editor
By Zhané Slambee
Image by BONNINSTUDIO / Stocksy
July 10, 2026
If someone gives you a hard time for gaming, you can tell them science is on your side
A new review1published in Acta Psychologica pulled together findings from 133 studies and found that people who play video games tend to perform better on a range of cognitive skills, including memory, attention, spatial reasoning, and the mental flexibility needed to switch between tasks
The pattern held across multiple study designs, though which specific domains showed the strongest effects varied depending on how the research was conducted
The findings don’t mean gaming is a cure-all, but they do suggest it’s a lot more cognitively demanding than its reputation implies
About the study
To get the clearest possible picture, researchers combined evidence from 133 studies instead of relying on just one
They looked at three different kinds of research: studies that examined whether people who game more also tend to perform better on cognitive tests, studies comparing gamers with non-gamers, and controlled experiments where participants were assigned to play video games
Altogether, the analysis included data from 14,245 people and examined five areas of cognition: memory, spatial skills, visual attention, cognitive control (your ability to stay focused and switch between tasks), and intelligence
Even though each type of study approached the question differently, they all pointed in the same general direction:
- Correlational studies: People who played more video games generally performed better on cognitive tests, with memory showing the strongest link.
- Comparison studies: Regular gamers outperformed non-gamers in spatial skills, visual attention, cognitive control, and intelligence.
- Controlled trials: People assigned to play video games experienced modest but meaningful improvements in cognition, with memory showing the biggest gains.
Gaming and your brain: what the data shows
Across all three study designs, video game play was positively associated with cognitive performance. Effects were small but meaningful, and they held up even after researchers ran sensitivity analyses to check the robustness of the findings
Playing a video game asks a lot more of your brain than passively scrolling social media or binge-watching a show
You’re constantly making decisions, reacting to new information, keeping track of multiple things at once, and adjusting your strategy as the game changes
creatine brain+ with cognizin®
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Over time, all of that mental work may help strengthen the brain systems involved in thinking and attention
So why might gaming help?
One possible explanation is neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and strengthen itself through repeated practice. Challenging your brain over and over again may reinforce the networks involved in attention, memory, and higher-level thinking
There’s also the environmental enrichment angle
Exploring large, open-world games may function similarly to what researchers call an “enriched environment,” a setting that stimulates the brain and supports memory-related functions, particularly those tied to the hippocampus
RELATED READ:This Brain Health Trait May Help Protect Against Cognitive Decline
The genre doesn’t matter as much as you’d think
One of the more surprising findings? It didn’t seem to matter what kind of game people played
The researchers tested whether factors like game type, age, gender, health status, intervention duration, and cultural context influenced the results. After applying statistical corrections for multiple comparisons, none of these factors significantly moderated the findings. Whether participants were playing puzzle games, strategy games, shooting games, or sports simulations, the association with cognitive performance held
That means you don’t need to seek out a specific “brain-training” type of game to get potential cognitive benefits. Dedicated brain-training apps like Lumosity were explicitly excluded from this analysis; the findings apply to commercial entertainment games only
What this means for your screen time
Not all screen time is created equal. Scrolling social media, watching videos, and passively consuming content are very different cognitive experiences from actively navigating a game world, solving puzzles, or coordinating with teammates in real time
If you’re already a gamer, this research offers a new frame for thinking about that time
And if you’ve been looking for a reason to swap some passive screen time for something more engaging, a game you genuinely enjoy may be a low-lift way to give your brain a more active workout
The research didn’t find that any one genre was superior, so the best game is probably the one you’ll actually play
For those thinking longer-term about brain health, learning how to take early action against cognitive decline offers a useful broader framework from a neurologist
A few caveats worth knowing
The researchers are careful to note that the effects observed were small, and the majority of included studies were rated as moderate methodological quality rather than high. That matters when interpreting the findings
Before you replace your workout with a gaming marathon, it’s worth keeping a few important caveats in mind:
- Causation isn’t confirmed: Correlational and comparison studies can’t tell us whether gaming improves cognition or whether people with stronger cognitive abilities are simply more drawn to gaming
- No long-term data: The analysis doesn’t include long-term follow-up, so it’s not clear whether the benefits persist over time
- Commercial games only: Brain-training apps were excluded, so the findings speak specifically to entertainment gaming
The researchers themselves call for large-scale longitudinal studies to clarify the direction of causality and track cognitive trajectories over time
The takeaway
Your brain doesn’t necessarily see all screen time the same way. While gaming isn’t a magic bullet for brain health, this study suggests it may be one of the more mentally engaging ways to spend time in front of a screen
