Now you have a good reason to play that Gears of War now: According to a researcher, playing more than four hours a week will improved reaction times, have good spatial reasoning and even better short-term memory.

Psychology research at Hamilton’s McMaster University shows gamers who spend more than four hours a week playing action video games such as Medal of Honour and Half Life 2 have a surprising array of skills ranging from quick reaction times and good spatial reasoning to a strong awareness of their surroundings and better short-term memory.

With as little as 10 hours of training, non-gamers start to show the same mental strengths, says psychology researcher Jim Karle, a graduate student in the department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour.

Read the rest on the Toronto Star website.