Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Video Games that Include Exercise Appear to Reduce
Depression in Senior Citizens
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Two young women demonstrate the
tennis game on Wii. See link below news story. |
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Subjects chose Nintendo Wii Sports games to play on
their own tennis, bowling, baseball, golf or boxing
Feb. 25, 2010 - New research suggests a novel route
to improving the symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in senior
citizens through the regular use of "exergames" entertaining video
games that combine game play with exercise.
In a pilot study, the researchers found that use of
exergames significantly improved mood and mental health-related quality
of life in older adults with SSD. The research report is from the Sam
and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of
California, San Diego School of Medicine.
SSD is much more common than major depression in
seniors, and is associated with substantial suffering, functional
disability, and increased use of costly medical services. Physical
activity can improve depression; however, fewer than five percent of
older adults meet physical activity recommendations.
The study, led by Dilip V. Jeste, MD, Distinguished
Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine,
Estelle and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging, and director of the UC San Diego
Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, appears in the March
issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
"Depression predicts nonadherence to physical
activity, and that is a key barrier to most exercise programs," Jeste
said. "Older adults with depression may be at particular risk for
diminished enjoyment of physical activity, and therefore, more likely to
stop exercise programs prematurely."
In the study, 19 participants with SSD ranging in
age from 63 to 94 played an exergame on the Nintendo Wii video game
system during 35-minute sessions, three times a week. After some initial
instruction, they chose one of the five Nintendo Wii Sports games to
play on their own tennis, bowling, baseball, golf or boxing.
Using the Wii remote a wireless device with
motion-sensing capabilities the seniors used their arm and body
movements to simulate actions engaged in playing the actual sport, such
as swinging the Wii remote like a tennis racket. The participants
reported high satisfaction and rated the exergames on various attributes
including enjoyment, mental effort, and physical limitations.
"The study suggests encouraging results from the
use of the exergames," Jeste said. "More than one-third of the
participants had a 50-percent or greater reduction of depressive
symptoms. Many had a significant improvement in their mental
health-related quality of life and increased cognitive stimulation."
Jeste said feedback revealed some participants
started the study feeling nervous about how they would perform in the
exergames and the technical aspects of game play. However, by the end of
the study, most participants reported that learning and playing the
videogames was satisfying and enjoyable.
"The participants thought the exergames were fun,
they felt challenged to do better and saw progress in their game play,"
Jeste said. "Having a high level of enjoyment and satisfaction, and a
choice among activities, exergames may lead to sustained exercise in
older adults." He cautioned, however, that the findings were based on a
small study, and needed to be replicated in larger samples using control
groups. He also stressed that exergames carry potential risks of injury,
and should be practiced with appropriate care.
The study was funded in part by grants from the
National Institute of Mental Health, the UCSD Sam and Rose Stein
Institute for Research on Aging, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Notes:
Additional authors include Dori Rosenberg, Jennifer
Reichstadt, Jacqueline Kerr and Greg Norman, UCSD Department of Family
and Preventative Medicine; and Colin A. Depp, Ipsit V. Vahia and Barton
W. Palmer, UCSD Department of Psychiatry.
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How to play tennis on
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