Monday, January 18, 2021

Mental health benefits of playing digital games

Children playing on a laptop
Computer games are good for your brain.

Gaming is considered one of the most enjoyable activities by the children.

Children aren't the only ones who play games. 33% of online gamers are around 33 years of age.

Does that sound weird? It’s the truth. Games aren't only for children.


Billions of people play online games worldwide

There are approximately 2.2 billion gamers around the world. The population of the world is around 7.6 billion. 

This means that a third of all the people in the world are gamers. This number is quite huge, isn’t it?

Out of those 2.2 billion gamers, 1.2 billion are those who play games on a desktop computer.


Playing online games is good for your mental health

You need to be physically active in order to stimulate your body on a regular basis. Lack of physical activity is a killer. Just like how regular exercise keeps your body healthy by proving a physical challenge, games keep your brain healthy by challenging it to think and respond.


Playing games for the sake of mental health

Do you really think that playing games could be very beneficial for your brain and your mental well-being? Well, it can be.

People often consider gaming as a waste of time. This isn't the case when it is done is proportion with other healthy activities like exercise, social interaction and earning an income.

Gaming has many positive mental benefits. It can even turn into a lucrative career for many people.

Here are the great mental advantages of playing games.


Mental benefits of gaming

1. Improves vocabulary
2. Increases IQ and thinking power
3. Stimulates decision making with immediate and long-term consequences
4. Raises reflexes with eye-to-body coordination
5. Good practice for multitasking

Mental benefits of gaming
Games are good for you.

1. Games improve vocabulary

Many people practice learning a new language in a fun and interactive way by playing a game with other people in a language that they want to learn.

Think about how playing video games can improve our vocabulary skills.

Games force you to master key words quickly

When we play digital games; we use key words like resume, reload, pause, go, stop, reverse, redo and many more.

Children learn these key words, along with their immediate meanings, at a very young age. This is a very good thing.

Gaming gives you the opportunity to implement words and use them with immediate feedback. You will learn the value of each word very quickly.

The youngest person in our household improved his reading skill very quickly after we introduced him to video games. The games forced him to read new phrases and sentences if he wanted to further his progress in the game.

There are many more words that each game requires the player to learn.


The eye-damaging effects of playing video games are in direct proportion to the amount of games that you play

Some people think that screen-based games are not good because of the light from the computer or laptop. It can affect our eyes.

This effect is harmless if you do it within moderation. You should balance out computer light with natural light, time spent with other people in a physical setting and time spent outside.

Stimulate your eyes by looking at a variety of differences to keep them healthy.

Gaming is like a form of exercise for your eyes because you need to focus on different parts of the screen at different times.

Just like how your body can take too much strain if you exercise too much, your eyes need variety to stay healthy.

Too much of anything is unhealthy. Even too much water can harm your health.

While screen-based games can positively stimulate your eyes, too much will cause ocular imbalances.

Don’t sit idly and play games for too long for the sake of these benefits. Variety is the key to optimum health.

Half an hour playing games is okay to refresh the brain and enjoy for some time. Limit yourself to a set, maximum of amount of time each day. This will allow you to reap the benefits without negatively affecting any other part of a healthy life.

Video games improve your vocabulary.
Games are a fun way to learn a language.

2. Games improve your IQ and thinking capacity

There is a direct relationship between your thinking power and playing games.

You will notice that your mental skills improve dramatically from the time that you first start playing a game. Thinking time decreases and mental reflexes (mental output) improves very quickly.

When you play any game like Ninja Fruit, Call of Duty, or the famous PUBG, these games require a lot of thinking power. This results in a form of exercise for the brain. 

Before doing any particular task in a game the player must think. This is a very good way to increase your IQ.

This will benefit you in your daily life.

You will have a greater ability to think on a particular topic and make a decision with regards of the consequences to that decision.

Virtual games can increase your IQ
Games are exercise for the brain.

3. Games improves decision making skills

Decision making skills are very important. They will ultimately determine the long-term outlay of your life.

Games are a great way to introduce you to the consequences of every decision that you make. They also improve the amount of time that it takes for you to make each decision.

There are many rules and regulations about what any gamer should have an eye on in a game. These little things can help you to have a greater mindset. In many games, you have to think about the bigger picture with every decision that you make.

Games help you become a problem solver.

Actual life decisions are not the same as in the game, but the developed thinking capability of any gamer will easily help them to make better and more effective decisions.


Games help you to make better decisions automatically.
Use games to improve your decisions.

4. Games improve eye coordination

Almost everyone knows that eye-hand coordination increases as you play games.


Benefits of better eye coordination:

1. Improves reaction time

2. Increases productivity

3. Enhances life skills


Child psychologists explain that children who have better hand-eye coordination develop better and more strategic thinking.

Reaction time will improve at almost any kind activity. For example, if you are looking for something in a room; the person with better eye-coordination has the highest chance of spotting the item first.

People who play games are better at strategic thinking.
Games improve brain function.

5. Computer games improve your multi-taking skills

Gamers are better at multitasking.

Games teach us how to handle many things at a single time.

If you playing an action game you need to be concentrated, focused, and managed to see what’s happening around you in the fame. You need to look at your enemies and deal with them along with many other things like your personal status, items on hand, etc.

These skills will not only help us in the games themselves. They can even help us to manage multiple projects at a time.

Our brain can become so developed at multitasking that it feels like you’re playing a game in your personal reality too. This is a common phenomenon among many avid gamers.

Games help you to handle multiple things at the same time.
Games improve coping skills.

Games are a great way to relax, break away from the stresses of life and improve our mental capacity.


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