Could Bingo Be Good for Your Brain?

We could all use a good brain boost here and there. In fact, we could probably use one a little more often than we’d like to admit. We live in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with ads for new “superfoods”, but if you’ve ever actually enjoyed a cup of green tea, you’re stronger than we are.

Keeping your body and mind healthy isn’t hard in theory: eat healthily, drink lots of water and try to get in a couple of hours’ exercise a week and you should be good to go. In practice though, it can be a lot harder. It’s no secret that pints and pies taste better than water and celery — but all things in moderation, they say!

Luckily, there is one thing that’s really enjoyable and doesn’t require you to complete a spelling bee or the London Marathon: good old fashioned bingo!

How bingo could benefit your brain

We know what you’re thinking: “As an online bingo site, you’re obligated to say that bingo is good for my brain!” 

And yes, while we do think bingo games are the bee’s knees, it’s not just us who think bingo could offer some benefits to the brain. In fact, the clever folk who clearly don’t need to worry about superfoods (or have been snacking on them since birth) have done a number of studies that support this. 

If you don’t believe us, just do a Google search and you’re sure to find many different studies, from finding out how it can improve your memory to how it is used to keep the elderly mentally stimulated.

Before we go any further, though, we’d like to temper your expectations somewhat: you’re not going to become Einstein after a single game of bingo. In the long-term, however, a number of studies support the idea that bingo has many cognitive benefits.

Keeping your wits about you

We can all probably agree that our brains tend to get a little slower with every year. We like to think it’s because we’re holding too much knowledge, but apparently, it’s just an age thing. 

A study by Julie Winstone from the Centre for Visual Cognition at Southampton University’s Psychology Department in 2002 showed that bingo could help to advance short term-memory. A group of 112 people, of a variety of ages, were split into two groups: half played online and in-person bingo every day and the others didn’t play at all.

And lo and behold! The bingo playing participants showed higher concentration abilities and level of short-term memory than those who didn’t play. So if you want to remember which mates owe you pints or a tenner, then some bingo might help!

Hand-eye coordination

If you want to be the best on a bingo site or in the bingo hall, you’re going to need to be as sharp as a fox when it comes to hearing numbers, blotting them out and then shouting “BINGO!” at the top of your lungs. 

You might think Uncle Al has become a bit slow, but if he’s a regular bingo player, don’t count him out just yet. The repetitive nature of bingo, and the need to recall patterns and locate numbers, could help to improve and maintain hand-eye coordination, in a big way.

Managing degenerative diseases

Because of the mental stimulation it offers, bingo has shown promise in being able to offer some therapeutic value when managing degenerative neurological diseases. Obviously, we’re not about to go around making big, scientific claims, and you should probably just play for fun, but it’s interesting to see how this game is being studied from a scientific perspective.

A study conducted by Benjamin P. Sobel from Princeton University, for example, showed that bingo was more effective than physical exercise when it comes to stimulating cognitive processes like short-term memory, concentration, word retrieval, and word recognition in adults with Alzheimer’s disease, which is a kind of dementia.

This means that although we can’t claim that bingo is a cure for anything, it certainly has merit when it comes to keeping people entertained and energized, especially since it offers a social benefit too (both online and offline).

Making friends

Socialising and making friends is a wonderful way to stimulate your brain. Playing bingo gives you the chance to connect with — and learn from — like-minded people from all over the world. This is particularly beneficial for our elderly players who need to get out and about and stay entertained in their golden years. 

We certainly don’t need an excuse to get together with our mates, either online or in person, but a game of bingo provides an added incentive to do just that. Release some of the serotonin in your brain with a giggle and a glass of wine over online or in-person bingo — it could do your brain the world of good!

Lucky Pants Bingo at your service

There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing our customers aren’t just a good looking bunch, but that if they stick with us they could potentially sharpen some of their mental skills too. Lucky Pants Bingo has a huge host of online bingo games to choose from, so you’ll never get bored! We’ve also got slot machines and the wildly popular Slingo bingo to keep your mental stimulation and enjoyment at their peak.