Playing Video Games, As A Better Man.

Your kids spending too much time in front of the computer? Too much time spent on video games? If you can't beat em, join em. Anyone else our age playing video games? I'll admit, I've spent a lot of time with Starcraft, Medal of Honor and SimCity. You know what, I think I'm better because of it.

Nearly half of those over the age of 50 who took part in a PopCap Games-University of Massachusetts Amherst study reported that playing Bejeweled Blitz on a regular basis left them feeling "sharper" doing other tasks. Just under a quarter of those over 65 said playing the game has improved their speed with timed tasks, and 22-percent felt playing the game has made them better at distinguishing patterns. Adults aged 18 to 80 took part in the study. Among all participants, 47-percent said they didn't pay attention to the countdown timer when it was added to the game. However, 53-percent of those over 65 said they could ignore the timer, while adults under the age of 25 were the most likely to become anxious when the timer was on. The addition of special multiplier gems didn't rattle many players in any age group. To the contrary, 66-percent said they found the special gems to be motivating in a positive way.

More than ten-thousand people took part in the study. More than 80-percent were women, and 41-percent were over the age of 50. Nearly 80-percent had gone to college.