This might not be the most helpful article you’ve ever read if you’re a parent, and you’re forever trying to drag your children away from video games to make them focus on homework or chores (or even to eat a meal!). It also might not be the most helpful article to read if you’re constantly telling your partner to do something more productive with their time than playing video games.
If, on the other hand, you’re frequently hard on yourself about all the time you ‘waste’ gaming when you could be doing more productive things, then perhaps we can make you feel a little bit better about your situation by telling you this: playing video games can actually be good for you, and we’ve got the facts to back it up.
We’ve known for a long time that playing games stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain. All video games reward you for successfully completing a specific activity. This is the basic principle behind gambling games on website like Rose Slots. Every single mobile slots game you’ve ever played is designed to frustrate you when you’re not winning, and then delight you when you do. Victory triggers a chemical response in the brain, and the chemical reaction makes you happy. This can sometimes go too far – which is why it’s possible to become addicted to mobile slots – but in moderation, it does more good than it does harm.
Pleasure is only one of the positive effects of video gaming, though, and it’s arguably the least useful. Here are the aspects of your life it can really improve!
Gaming Can Improve Your Eyesight
The idea that you can improve your eyesight by playing video games probably sounds nonsensical. We’ve all been raised to believe that too much time in front of a screen damages our vision, and it’s an idea that dates back all the way to our grandparents telling us that too much TV would give us all ‘square eyes.’ While there is some evidence that certain types of screen exposure can be harmful, fast-paced video games aren’t. Vision problems associated with screens happen because we don’t blink as often as we should, and therefore our eyes strain and dry out. If you’re playing a fast-paced game, though, you blink more than you would typically do. Not only that, they improve our contrast sensitivity – our ability to discern between different shades of white, grey, and black – and that can make it easier for us to drive in the dark and read in poor light. It sounds crazy, but it’s a scientific fact.
Games Improve Our Hand-Eye Coordination
Even people who are suspicious of the beneficial effects of video games have to concede this point. People who play games have better hand-eye coordination than people who don’t. This is a logical process that isn’t too hard to follow – when you’re playing a video game, your eyes are on the screen and not the controller in your hand. That means you’re developing the ability to make accurate movements with your hands without having to look to see what they’re doing. You’re also improving your judgment in terms of the precision of your movement as it relates to the action taken by whatever it is you’re controlling on the screen. It might surprise you to know that the training programs undertaken by many surgeons now involve using video game technology to simulate performing surgical procedures on real people. Should you ever need surgery, the person performing the task is probably an expert gamer.
Gaming Keeps The Brain Young
It’s a sad fact of life that as we get older, our brains lose some of the mental agility they had when they were young. The simple fact is that our minds need to be kept exercised in order to stay sharp. That generally isn’t a problem during our working lives, when we have tasks to perform every day, and objectives to strive for. After we retire, there generally isn’t as much for our brains to think about, and so they begin to slack off. Gaming can stop that from happening. The University of Iowa once ran an experiment in which senior citizens played video games for ten hours per week over a six week period, and the findings were astonishing. Not only did it slow down the aging process within the brain, it actually reversed it. Some of the subjects developed the mental acuity of someone six to seven years younger than them. Gaming isn’t just for kids – but it can definitely keep you young!
Games Improve Decision Making Processes
Many of you who are reading this right now probably wish you could be more decisive. Perhaps you should go out and buy a video games console and the latest version of ‘Call of Duty.’ Very involved games like ‘Call of Duty’ and other action games require players to focus not only on the immediate task or mission at hand, but other information such as incoming messages, ammo loads, resources, and activity happening in their peripheral vision as well. They become accustomed to receiving large amounts of information in short bursts and acting on it instantly. If they don’t, they lose the game. That teaches them a skill which they’re then able to replicate in real life; they can absorb vast amounts of data in a short space of time, assess it and evaluate it, and make an informed decision based on what they’ve just considered. That’s how you become decisive – and decisive people are more likely to become leaders. If you want that promotion at work, you better get back in front of the PlayStation!
Never let anyone make you feel bad about playing video games. You’re not just doing it for fun – you’re also improving your eyesight, improving your hand-eye coordination, learning to make better decisions, and making sure that your brain will stay healthy for longer in life. If whoever you’re having the debate with doesn’t believe all of that, just direct them to this article. We’re on your side!
