4 Reasons Adults Should Spend Time Playing Video Games

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If you’re not an avid gamer and you happen to have kids, you probably despise seeing them hooked on the TV and controller for hours and likely find yourself repeatedly telling them to stop and use their precious time studying instead. A lot of us grownups don’t understand why the younger ones love to play these games but a lot of recent studies are saying that video games are not just for kids and there are so many reasons why grown-ups need to spend some time playing them aside from de-stressing. Let’s take a look at the ten advantages adults can get from playing video games:

Improves Decision Making

A University of Rochester research conducted by C. Shawn Green confirms how playing video games could help young adults who had no gaming experience can improve their decision making abilities. In his research, one group of individuals were instructed to play an intense action video game in a span of 50 hours, while another group of participants who were the same age played a slower-paced strategy game. At the end of the study, he concluded that fast-paced action video games improved the way the players processed sensory data and this translated into making the right decisions.

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Alleviates Depression

A recent research conducted in New Zealand observed over 168 teenagers who showed previous signs of depression. The group was divided into two, with one group going to traditional counselling and the other playing video games. At the end of the study, the second group exhibited significant signs of recovery from depression compared to the first group. Even those who don’t have game consoles can enjoy free video games online and benefit from these. If you don’t know where to look, you can try CanadaCasino.net and check out all the free online slot games they feature over here. The colors, graphics, and themes are not only very entertaining but they can be therapeutic as well.

Slows Down Mental Aging

In a study conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa, it was proven that playing games can help slow down mental decline as we age. The study observed 681 healthy people 50 years and older play video games for ten hours within five to eight weeks and found that this practice led to a significant improvement in their mental health, from a minimum of 1.5 years to 6.5 years of recovery.

Improves Eyesight

Contrary to what most parents think, video games can actually aid in improving one’s eyesight, not worsen it. In 2009, researchers from the University of Rochester observed a group of players, who were experienced playing first-person shooter game, play Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament 2004 and another group of casual gamers play slow video games, such as The Sims 2. The head of the said study, Daphne Bavelier, concluded that playing action games can lead to an improved contrast sensitivity function. At the end of the study, those from the group of first-person shooters showed signs of having better vision compared to those from the other group.

With all these benefits, you probably want to get your own video games right now! And there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun at the end of a very grueling day. So, go ahead and pick a few video games to start with.

As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.