“You’ll get sick if you gamble so much.” “You’re getting stupider from all the gaming.” “Gambling makes you aggressive.” Every gamer has probably had to listen to this at least once.
Gamers regularly have to deal with prejudices and criticism from those around them, but gaming can actually have a positive effect on your body. We’ll show you 8 reasons why gaming can even have positive effects.
The effects of gaming cannot be assessed across the board. However, there is scientific findings that gaming can have positive effects. We present these to you in this photo series.
Video games can improve your manual dexterity
Like the American Psychological Association reportedcontroller-based games can promote fine motor skills in your hands. In a study of surgeons, researchers found that the doctors who played video games were faster in carrying out procedures and even made 37% fewer errors.
Special video games were also used in physical therapy to help patients regain control of their hands and wrists.
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“The big picture is that there are multiple dimensions to which games have an impact, including the amount in which they are played, the content of the game in question, what to pay attention to on the screen, and how to control movement. This means that games are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but are powerful educational tools and have many effects that we might not have thought they had.”
Douglas Gentile, PhD
Video games can increase your creativity
Like Science Daily reportedgames like Minecraft in particular can help you develop further.
A study from Iowa State University finds that video games that promote creative freedom, under certain conditions can increase creativity.
The experimental study compared the effect of playing Minecraft with or without instructions to watching a television show or playing a racing game. The participants who were free to play Minecraft without instructions were the most creative.
Video games can improve eyesight
How LiveScience reportscertain video games can improve visual perception.
A study from the University of Rochester says that first-person action shooters Significantly increase the ability to accurately see objects in a cluttered space.
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“These games push the human eye to the limits and the brain adapts. This learning transfers to other activities and potentially to daily life.”
Daphne Bevelier
Playing 3D games can improve memory
Playing three-dimensional video games is not only a lot of fun, but it can also promote memory formation Neurobiologists at the University of CaliforniaIrvine.
For their research, Craig Stark and Dane Clemenson of the UCI Center for Neurobiology recruited students with no regular gaming experience to play either a video game with a passive, two-dimensional environment (Angry Birds) or one with a complicated, three-dimensional environment (Super Mario 3D World) for 30 minutes per day for two weeks.
The participants who played the 3D game improved their memory test scoreswhile the 2D players did not. The effect was clear. Memory performance increased by about 12%, as much as it normally decreases between ages 45 and 70.
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“Firstly, the 3D games have a few things that the 2D games don’t have. They have a lot more spatial information to explore. Secondly, they are much more complex, with a lot more information to learn from. Either way, we know that this type of learning and memory not only stimulates the hippocampus, it requires it.”
Dane Clemenson
Video games can have a positive impact on mental health
Studies from the National Center for Biotechnology suggest that Video games lift your mood and ensure a better heart rhythm can – a sign that they can also help reduce stress. The correlation (not causation) between video games and stress has been shown in numerous independent studies, which is why video games have been used in therapy for over a decade.
Video games can have a positive impact on young children
A study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues at Paris Descarters University have found outthat playing video games can have positive effects on young children.
After adjusting for age, gender and number of children, the researchers found that high video game use was 1.75 times more likely to have high intellectual functioning and one 1.88 times more likely to have high general school competence was connected. Despite the positive results, the researchers warn.
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“Playing video games is often a common leisure activity for school-age children. These results suggest that children who play video games frequently may have social cohesion with peers and be integrated into the school community. However, we caution against overinterpretation, as setting limits on screen use remains an important component of parental responsibility as an overall strategy for student success.”
Katherine M. Keyes, PhD
Video games can help you lose weight
How ScienceDaily reportsLouisiana State University found that Video games can serve as a stimulus to lose weight.
A new study showed that video games combined with fitness coaching and a pedometer helped overweight children lose weight, lower their blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and increase their physical activity.
Video games can inspire you to be more ambitious
Neurologist Judy Willis MD arguesthat video games can fuel your ambition.
When you win at video games, it’s a great feeling of achievement. After defeats, you try again and learn from your mistakes until you reach your goal. According to Willis, some researchers and educators argue that video games can teach you to be more confident and work towards your goalstreating every misstep as another learning opportunity.