Do Video Games Improve Memory?

Table of Contents

• Real Memory Gains

• What Gaming Does to Your Brain

• Best (and Worst) Games for Memory

• What to Play by Age

• How Much Is Too Much?

• How Gaming Trains Your Mind

• When Gaming Hurts Your Brain

• Video Games as Therapy?

• 🧠 So… Should You Game for Memory?

Real Memory Gains

Video games don’t just entertain, they boost memory too.

Here’s what research shows:

🟧 University of Limerick (2024)

🔸 Gamers were 12.7% faster on working memory tasks
🔸 17.4% faster on visuospatial memory tests than non-gamers

🟧 UC Irvine (2015)

🔸 Non-gamers played 3D games 30 mins/day for 2 weeks
🔸 Memory improved by 12% - like reversing 20 years of brain aging

🟧 ABCD Study (2022)

🔸 Kids who played games 3+ hours/day had better working memory and impulse control
🔸 Compared to kids who didn’t game at all

What Gaming Does to Your Brain

This isn’t just theory, scientists scanned gamer brains.

At the Max Planck Institute, adults played Super Mario 64 for 30 mins a day. After two months, their brains showed more grey matter in:

🔹 the hippocampus (memory)
🔹 the prefrontal cortex (decision-making)
🔹 and the cerebellum (coordination)

Another study from University of Helsinki found that gamers had more activity in the fronto-parietal network, the system your brain uses when memory tasks get hard.

So, basically…

Gaming trains your brain to remember more, process faster, and solve better under pressure.

Not all games do this, though.

Best (and Worst) Games for Memory

Not all games are built equal…
Some build memory, others might actually shrink it.

Here’s how different types stack up:

Top pick:

🟢 3D games (like Super Mario) show the strongest memory effects
They make your brain work to explore, learn, and remember space.

What to Play by Age

Different brains, different games.

Here’s what works best depending on how old (or young) you are:

🧒 Kids (7–12):
🔸 Working memory training games
30–60 mins a day
→ Great for focus, especially in kids with ADHD

🧑 Teens (13–17):
🔸 Strategy + 3D adventure games
60–90 mins a day
→ Builds planning, memory, attention

👨 Young Adults (18–30):
🔸 All types work best here
Max gains for memory, spatial skills, focus
→ 60–90 mins/day is optimal

👵 Older Adults (60+):
🔸 Puzzle + 3D games
30–45 mins/day
→ Maintains memory, slows decline

How Much Is Too Much?

Yes, video games can help your brain, but only if you don’t overdo it.

🧠 Research shows a U-shaped effect:

Too little = not enough stimulation.
Too much = mental fatigue, worse focus, possible addiction.

How Gaming Trains Your Mind

We’ve seen the brain changes, but what do they actually do?

Here’s how gaming turns into real-world memory gains:

🧩 You’re constantly learning rules
Games teach you new systems, fast. Your brain has to remember patterns, rewards, layouts on the fly. That’s working memory in action.

🗺️ You’re mentally mapping everything
In 3D games, your brain builds internal maps of space. That improves spatial memory, same skill you use to remember where you parked or navigate a city.

🧠 You’re juggling tasks non-stop
Switching weapons, tracking enemies, remembering objectives, that multitasking builds memory capacity and sharpens attention.

🧬 You adapt, quickly
Games train your brain to update info in real time, boosting memory flexibility and faster recall.

When Gaming Hurts Your Brain

Yeah, games can boost memory, but not all gaming is good gaming.

Here’s when it starts working against you:

🧠 First-Person Shooters (FPS)

A study from McGill found that players who used “autopilot” habits in FPS games (just memorizing paths without thinking) actually had hippocampal shrinkage after 90 hours.

🧠 Gaming Addiction

A 2020 study on kids found that addictive gaming habits were linked to:

• worse episodic memory

• attention problems

• slower learning

And yeah, they were still gaming for “fun”, just too much of it.

🧠 The Overload Zone

🚩 3+ hours a day = more risk, less gain
Your brain gets tired. Focus drops.
Memory actually gets worse after a point.

Video Games as Therapy?

Turns out, video games aren’t just fun, they’re being used in medicine.

🟧 ADHD

A Notre Dame study found that kids with ADHD who played working memory training games for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, saw:

🔹 75% improvement in symptoms
🔹 Better focus
🔹 More motivation than with flashcards or traditional methods

This isn’t theoretical, some games are now FDA-approved for ADHD treatment.

🟧 Cognitive Decline

Older adults playing simple games like Super Mario or Angry Birds saw memory improvements that lasted after they stopped playing.

Used right, gaming helps keep the aging brain sharp, like sudoku, but with sound effects.

🟧 Brain Rehab

New research shows gaming could help in recovery from:

🔸 PTSD
🔸 Schizophrenia
🔸 Memory loss from injury

By targeting working memory and attention, games are becoming tools in cognitive rehab.

🧠 So… Should You Game for Memory?

Yes, if you do it right.

🔸 Play the right games
🔸 Keep it under 90 mins a day
🔸 Avoid brain-dead autopilot modes
🔸 Aim for challenge, not mindless grinding

The best memory boosters:

🔹 3D platformers
🔹 Strategy games
🔹 Puzzle games
🔹 Working memory trainers (especially for ADHD)

Avoid:

❌ Over 3 hours/day
❌ Addictive patterns
❌ FPS games with no spatial learning