You don't get as much benefits from gaming if you are old?

When we picture game players, we always think of children, teenagers, or young adults. Young children play to learn, and teenagers become more interested in high technology if they play video games frequently. What about adults? or the elder people? Do they get as much benefits from gaming? Is there an age where games lose their benefits?

I have never thought of this question before, but the more I think about it, the more I believe there's no such age where games lose their benefits.

First of all, playing games is always entertaining and helpful in releasing stress. Take my dad for example. He was in the school tennis team from high school to college. It is undoubtable that he not only played tennis well but also enjoyed it very much. He told me that playing tennis gave him the chance to release the stress from school, and from work in his later life. Did he lose such benefit even when he turned 50 this year? No. He might not be able to run as fast as he could, but playing tennis is still an effective way for him to feel less stressed in life. In addition, he can now play with me and my brothers, so I say he probably have more fun playing tennis now, compared to 30 years ago when he could only play with his coach.

Now, let's not talk about sports. Everyone knows doing exercise is good for people from all ages. What about other games?

When it comes to games that benefit human brains, I always think of my grandfather. He has been a famous, semi-professional Mahjong player for as long as I can remember. I always thought playing Mahjong was simply a game to kill time or to hang out with friends, but later I realized that it is actually more beneficial than I thought. Several years ago, my grandma started to have the symptoms of memory lost. I could still remember that evening when everyone was worried, because grandma's phone was off, and she had been out for almost 3 hours. Later she came home and told us that she suddenly forgot where she lived after she went grocery shopping, so she could only walk around and try to figure out the way back home. Everyone was shocked when they heard this. My mom was worried that my grandpa would be the same in a few years, but my dad said he was not worried at all because grandpa had been using his brain constantly because of Mahjong. It is less likely for him to have buildups blocking the transmission of the brain and the nerves. Giving that my dad is a physician, I totally believe that playing games, especially games that can stimulate thoughts like Mahjong, is actually beneficial for elder people.

So, because of the living examples in my family, I don't think there is an age where games lose their benefits. Looking back at what happened to my grandparents, I say certain games probably have more benefits to older people because keeping the brain active is like doing brain exercise. I do not know if playing Mahjong or chess can reduce people's chance of getting Alzheimer's disease, but I do believe that poking your brain once in a while by playing game is good for you, and you don't get less benefits from games just because you grow older.