Action video games are good for the eyes

A study by a team at the University of Rochester in New York state has revealed action video games may actually help to sharpen vision.

Doctors says shooter games provide excellent training for what eye doctors call contrast sensitivity, the ability to notice tiny changes in shades of grey against a uniform background. This function, which is crucial to activities such as driving at night and reading, often degrades with age.

Daphne Bavelier, a professor at the University of Rochester, says it was not thought that the problem could be fixed through training.

“It was something that we corrected for at the level of the optics of the eye – to get better contrast detection you get glasses or laser surgery,” she told Agence France-Presse.

“What we found is that even without this correction you can help your brain make better use of whatever information is received from your retina.”