You’re at home one night vegging out on the couch with a video game
controller in your hands and your thumbs furiously pounding at an
endless wave of mutant warthog alien space zombie Masons. Your
girlfriend or wife walks in and catches you "wasting time" with "one of
those machines" and wishes you would do something more productive,
something other than improve your achievement ranking. You don’t say
anything. You just nod quietly and go back to your very loud game of "
Gears Of War" and internally deal with the emotional blow to your bruised ego.
While it's true prolonged gaming without physical exertion or
exposure to violent video games at a very young age can affect a
person's physical and mental well-being to varying degrees, there are
other arguments to be made in favor of being a regular, active gamer.
And unlike some arguments against gaming, the science exists to back it
up. So the next time she gets on your case, throw one of these in her
face or at the back of her head as she's leaving you.
1. Improves perception and reaction skills
The best gamers don’t just memorize levels or remember the locations
of power-ups and enemies. They also work to improve their timing with
every wave of bullets they spray at their enemies. Reaction is key to
being a successful gamer, unless you want to get loads of exercise by
jumping and screaming at your controller, although that's bad for your
heart. A study from
the University of Rochester
found that video gaming provides "an efficient training regimen to
induce a general speeding of perceptual reaction times without
decreases in accuracy of performance" by requiring players to develop a
"rapid processing of sensory information and prompt action" at crucial
points during the game.
2. Treats depression
Nothing can brighten a gloomy day better than the warm glow of a
television screen covered in blood and flying bullets. Of course, it’s
not just the glow from the TV that makes you feel all warm and gooey
inside; it's science.
The Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine
published a preliminary study that found playing certain games can help
a person escape from their depression at times when they have no
control over the factors that are causing it. The games "seem to
activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the
heightened tension that is a natural response to stress." Translation:
It makes your brain feel less hurty.
3. Improves physical fitness
Full motion control devices like
Nintendo Wii,
Playstation Move and
XBox Kinect haven't just opened a whole new avenue for eating Cheetos. It may lead a new revolution for physical fitness and agility.
The International Sports Sciences Association
found people who play motion games in their homes not only hook young
children on physical activity at an early age but also could encourage
adults to move to more beneficial physical activities, noting, "Simply
moving can increase one's metabolism."
4. Allows you to control your dreams
This sounds like something out of a
Philip K. Dick
novel. However, science has found people who play video games are
actually practicing for when they drift off into dream land. Since games
give people the ability to control their environment,
they can control and reduce particularly harmful nightmares and even give themselves a sense of mental health and stability.
5. Improves visual attention
The University of Rochester found
that playing games not only makes people more aware of their
surroundings, but can also improve a person’s ability to maintain their
focus when it is most needed. These findings suggest that video games or
some other more clinical variation may be able to help those who are
visually impaired to rehabilitate their sight or even help train
soldiers for military service.
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