Effect of fidget spinners in enhancement of cognitive skills in healthy individuals: An interventional study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Fidget spinners have gained explosive popularity. Polarizing anecdotal accounts of their effects have been given but very few studies have been conducted to assess their effect. Thus, this study was undertaken to observe the effect of using fidget spinners on various aspects of cognition. Methods We selected 30 healthy individuals and following the recording of baseline scores in various cognitive function tests, they took these tests before & after a particular intervention (i.e., using fidget spinners) daily for a total of 9 days over the course of three weeks, at the end of which, an end-assessment was done. A follow-up was conducted after a period of 3 weeks post-discontinuation of fidget spinners. Results Significant improvement was observed in digit symbol matching, picture pairs, multiple object tracking, and fast choice tests (p < 0.001). A sustained effect was observed when the follow-up scores were compared to baseline and end-assessment scores. Conclusion While there was little to no change in fluid intelligence and response speed, using fidget spinners resulted in sustained improvement in processing speed, visual episodic memory, working memory, visuospatial attention, and inhibitory control. Regular use of fidget spinners might improve various aspects of cognition and benefit countless individuals.