Fri Mar 23, 2007 — by Elayne Riggs

Videogames sharpen eyesight

So sayeth a new study

I've long considered myself on the 20th century side of the technology gap.  I'm geared for slower entertainment, like reading.  Even the shifting camerawork on most TV dramas makes my eyes hurt.

So I have no idea what to make of the new study indicating that "playing action video games for an hour or so daily actually helps sharpen visual acuity."  The study's lead author, Daphne Bavelier (a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester) notes that "action-video-game play changes the way our brains process visual information.

"After just 30 hours of training, people who didn't normally play video games showed a substantial increase in the spatial resolution of their vision, meaning they could see small, closely packed letters, like those on an eye chart, more clearly, even when other symbols crowded in."

As a person who doesn't normally play video games, and really resents my bifocals, I view this as potentially good news, and await instruction from WomenGamers on how best to go about improving my vision.

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