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8 Amazing Benefits of playing video games

Amazing Benefits of playing video games 


Is playing video games good or bad for us is one of the most heated debates of the 21st century that we are still trying to address by conducting scientific researches and studies. Whether you enjoy playing Pokemon game or other games like Red Dead Redemption, how these addictive and engaging games affect the mind and body of the kids has been a major source of worry for parents. Good news is, according to the various researchers playing games for moderate hours can lead to surprising benefits which are described below.

Video games slow down the aging

Although getting wiser and older has its own benefits, it also comes with many other natural problems like weak memory and forgetfulness. Just like physical exercise routines can make a 60-year-old person like 50, playing memory, decision-making or problem-solving games can aid in heightened cognitive functioning. A study conducted at Iowa University with the age group of 50 and above years of people showed that playing video games for 10 to 14 hours for to 3 weeks resulted in improved cognitive abilities that lasted for years.

Aids in making better decisions

Playing video games can help you make quicker and better decisions. Shawn Green conducted research with a pool of young people who played 50 hours of a video game while another team of similar age group was asked to play the slow-strategy game. After the study, it was concluded that fast-paced action games assist people in taking in sensory data and transforming it into the right decisions. These games change the brain drastically by enhancing various perceptual functions.

Games can improve eyesight

A study conducted by a team from the University of Rochester where a group played a first-shooter game like Call Of Duty while other team played slow casual games like The Sims 2. After testing it was found that team who played first-shooter games had improved vision when compared to others. This was the result of improved contrast sensitivity function which enabled action game players to distinguish between hues of grey against a colored background. Make sure you have a good gaming monitor though so that your eyes are not affected negatively, hence choosing the right monitor is really important.

New social connections

Gamers have always been considered socially awkward and isolated individuals. But with the emergence of online multi-player forums, gamers have been socializing with one another in order to solve gaming problems. Again it’s common for friends to bond together over gaming sessions from time and again.

Heightened Focus and Attention

To discover if video games can help to be more attentive and focused, two different teams of experienced gamers and non-gamers where assigned several different perceptual tasks. In these study gamers out-performed non-gamers hence proving the fact that action games influence performance in cognition, perception, and attention.

Enhanced hand-eye coordination

Playing action games requires you to react precisely and quickly to the events that unfold on the screen. According to the studies, this practice improves coordination between hands and eyes which benefits gamers while performing other tasks as well. A study conducted on laparoscopic specialists concluded that surgeons who played games for at least 3 hours per week made 32 % fewer errors than their counterparts. For better gaming experience, you can even build your gaming pc, so that you can enjoy your games without nay lag.

Better learning ability

Certain games aid us with better learning abilities by enhancing the flexibility of the brain and ultimately helping us to become quick learners. A study with 72 volunteers that played either fast-paced strategy games like StarCraft or slow-paced life simulation games like The Sims showed that people who played StarCraft had boosted cognitive flexibility than ones who played The Sims.

Building Relationship

Playing a fun and entertaining game together can help couples strengthen the bond between them. It has been psychologically proven that couples who participate and indulge in fun, exciting activities together tend to have longer, healthier and happier relationships.

Final Verdict

There is a need to carry out a lot of research to understand how virtual characters, imaginary worlds and intriguing storylines affect us physically and mentally. Even though playing video games may give us certain benefits, there is still lurking possibility of facing other negative effects that may come along with overindulgence. Still playing video games definitely has the upper hand when compared with passive TV watching.

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