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Video games are good for you

Video games are a very intrinsic part of most kids’ lives. They’re now more accessible than ever, from e-sports tournaments on television, to mobile games on our smartphones. For parents, there will always be that dilemma over how much access we give our children to video games. To help get to the bottom of this issue, we’ve looked at some of the more recent scientific research. Here’s a brief synopsis of what we found, followed by details on the science behind this statement.

Studies conducted recently have proven that gaming has the ability to improve the quality of life for the mentally ill and disabled. They revealed that playing different video games increases grey matter, or the size of your brain. Games also streamline both learned and instinctive skills. Simply put, gaming impacts the parts of the brain responsible for spatial orientation, fine motor skills – which constitute the ability to make tiny movements – and memory.

For one study, researchers selected two groups of adults. One group was asked to play Super Mario 64 for half an hour a day over the course of two months. The other group played no video games at all. A direct link was made between gaming and an increase in brain size. This led the researchers to conclude that people afflicted with mental disabilities who’ve had areas of their brains shrink could benefit from playing video games.

Video games can teach kids real-world problem-solving skills, as well as how to strategize. Open-ended, world-building games give gamers an opportunity to sharpen their problem-solving skills on a larger and more impactful scale. Players lay out and construct their city, and then have to plan ahead for different events. It teaches planning and resource management, beneficial for both kids and older players.

A study from University College London reported that certain games can increase players’ cognitive flexibility. Scientists describe this ability to be one of the cornerstones of human intelligence. Researchers discovered participants who played real-time strategy games for 40 hours over two months’ time made noticeable gains in their performance on tests. They completed various tasks with increased speed and more accuracy, as well.

We have established how video games could be beneficial for the mind, but what about the body? You might not think of video games as being a physical activity. After all, it’s common to associate gaming with your kids sitting on the couch or in a computer chair for long periods of time. This doesn’t have to be the case.

A 2013 study looked at surgeons playing games on a gaming console. Gaming was found to help with precise muscle movements, as well as the surgeons’ hand-eye coordination. Both of these are essential skills in their field.

Dr. Debbie Rand, of Tel-Aviv University, conducted a study designed to find a more effective and affordable way to help patients regain their movement and speech after having a stroke. They were then broken into two groups. The first group used traditional rehab exercises, while the second played video games. Both groups showed improvement in certain areas, such as regaining strength in their grip. The group which played video games continued to improve their hand strength after the treatment was over.

There is evidence to suggest that video games are good for you, both mentally and physically. The stereotypes around gaming are starting to fall away as a result. As they do so, more and more people have opened themselves up to the benefits gaming has to offer. As with anything else though, the best way to maintain those benefits is through playing in moderation, particularly when it comes to children.