"Digital Games Could Be a Solution for Alzheimer's"

BAU Faculty of Educational Sciences faculty member Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said, "Logic and problem-solving games can be developed for Alzheimer's and dementia, and digital games can prevent these conditions."

According to 2017 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the proportion of elderly people using the internet in our country has increased 2.7-fold. According to TÜİK figures, the proportion of elderly people aged 65-74 using the internet rose from 4.2 percent in April 2013 to 11.3 percent in the same month of 2017. Stating that digital games can be developed for the cognitive skills of elderly people, Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur, a faculty member of the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology at a foundation university, said, "Logic and problem-solving games can be developed for Alzheimer's and dementia, and digital games can prevent these conditions."

Noting that elderly people are interested in digital devices and that digital games that could prevent Alzheimer's and dementia can therefore be developed, Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said, "It can be beneficial for brain development for elderly people to use digital devices to search the internet, use educational applications, and use applications that guide them to develop skills such as thinking fast, making quick decisions or retaining information."

"DIGITAL GAMES SUITABLE FOR THE ELDERLY CAN BE DEVELOPED"

Noting that, according to recent research with the elderly, playing action, racing and strategy games also improves elderly people's skills such as fast thinking, quick decision-making, visual processing, mental flexibility and effective use of short-term memory, Samur said, "It is observed that while elderly people play digital games, inactive areas of the brain become active, brain activity increases significantly and recall skills improve. For this reason, the most suitable digital games can be developed for elderly people for Alzheimer's and dementia."

"RESEARCH ALSO SUPPORTS THIS"

Noting that an academic study found that individuals aged 50 and over who played games that became progressively harder at each level for one year showed an increase in cognitive processing speed that would normally take several years, Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said, "Research with individuals aged 55-75 has found that those who play 3D logic and problem-solving games have fewer cognitive problems, and even that dementia could be prevented in this way."

Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur also stated that, according to another study, adults aged 60-85 who played games focusing on cognitive skills for 12 hours a month over 6 months showed improved multitasking skills, could retain more information in short-term memory and had stronger attention skills at the end of the 6 months. Samur noted that, again according to research, digital exercise games that can recognize and perceive the body's physical activities, such as cycling, dancing and skiing, can help people improve their mental functions and can significantly improve their overall mental health.

Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said, "We can point to game applications such as Tetris, PacMan, Snake and Super Mario as games that our elderly are familiar with, that they can comfortably play to spend quality time and that can improve their mental skills."

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES SHOULD ALSO BE DONE

Also emphasizing the importance of elderly people trying to do physical activities as much as possible, Assist. Prof. Dr. Yavuz Samur said, "In addition to playing quality digital games, it is very important for elderly people to play physical and board games with family members and friends whenever possible, and to devote enough time to physical activities during the day. Finally, activities such as trying to learn new subjects, memorizing and discovering new places also play an important role in the brain development of elderly people."