Gaming is good for your health
Games are good for you?
According to the most recent researches, yes, they are!
Researches about video games are usually about - Do they make us go berserk and get violent and medieval? - so these new researches about gaming benefits are indeed good news for us avid gamers.
So what are the benefits of different types of games? And what are these benefits? These are the questions I'm about to answer you in this hub.
Sight Benefits - The gamer's eye
Attention to Detail:
The gamer's sight is different from the non-gamer's one researches say. Playing action games is making gamers more attentive to detail.
An interest test that was performed was the table with objects test. In this test, a table cluttered with objects was shown to the test subject for 1 minute and then taken away. After some minutes, the subject had to write down all the objects he could remember being on the table. Gamers consistently had better results showing that a gamer pays attention to his surroundings - I can see why this happens, all the time you spend on CS looking out for campers pays off!
The cure for lazy eye is.... Gaming!
You know that lazy eye phenomenon that makes people wear an eye patch for great periods of time? Well, researchers found out that one hour playing action games can do the same work than an eye patch does in 400 hours - the source is The Journal of Neuroscience
FPS (Fist Person Shooters) players have the best benefits - now I'm sure even knowing this the doctor is still going to recommend the eye patch, I don't believe they will start recommending playing Call Of Duty as a cure.
Brain benefits of playing games
There are lots of strategy games out there, and all that multitasking of building, recruiting, attacking, gathering etc should do something right? Right!
Scientists figured out that strategy games, played regularly, enlarge the cortex - this makes the brain's decision making mechanism much more efficient, boosting neurotransmitters communication speed.
The decision making ability is boosted by 25% in relation to a person who doesn't play games - impressive!
This also improves hand-eye coordination, and the speed to which the brain communicates with the rest of the body. Awesome!
Balance & Fitness
No, you are not going to get healthy and full of muscles by playing World of Warcraft, but some games can actually improve your balance and fitness.
A good example of this are the Wii games - Wii Fit and Wii Sports.
Playing half an hour a day of Wii Fit can improve your balance in just four sessions and regularly making a 30 minute routine can be enough exercise for you - depending on the routine that is.
A lot of senior clubs are starting to have Wii systems to take advantage of this, and the elder appreciate it. A fun way to keep the body moving!
Summary
Game Types
| Benefits
|
|---|---|
Wii Games
| Balance & Fitness
|
Action Games
| Sight
|
Strategy Games
| Brain
|
Carreira's Final Note
So now you are excited about all these benefits, but I got to remind you of one thing:
These studies are made with gamers that play in moderation - moderation is the key.
Don't forget about your friends and about the real world in order to play and remind yourself that if you spend one hour doing math equations you are probably getting more benefits to your brain than by playing video games.
