A team from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also found gamers were less healthy, fatter, and more depressed than non-gamers.
Researchers from the government agency analysed data from 500 adults aged 19 to 90 in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington state.
More than 45% of those surveyed reported playing video games.
The team chose the Seattle-Tacoma area because its internet usage level is the highest within the US and it is one of the larger markets for media.
A UK survey from 2002, conducted by the Leisure Software Publishers Association, found the average gamer was aged between 25 and 34.
But it also suggested that the average age of the keenest players is gradually edging upwards, a finding reinforced by the CDC finding.
The team from CDC examined people’s perception of their mood, personality, health status, physical and mental health, body mass index (BMI) and quality of life.