5 Health Benefits From Playing Video Games

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Using Video Games To Reduce Stress

Aside from the direct physical benefits of video games, research into video games has also found that they have the ability to reduce stress. Research from Texas A&M University found that students playing violent video games developed behaviors that helped in the management of frustration and stress levels.

Given that stress is a significant contributor to the risk of suffering a heart attack, developing early skills to manage stress is important to lifelong health.

Reduced Depression And Anxiety From Playing Video Games

In addition to the benefits of video games in reducing stress levels, researchers have also found that some video games have the ability to reduce levels of depression and anxiety. In research from East Carolina University, scientists found that playing several types of non-violent video games caused a reduction in levels of depression. They observed that amongst patients suffering from depression those who played video games were able to reduce their depressive symptoms by an average of 57% in comparison to depressed patients who did not play the video games.

The study also found that levels of anxiety amongst those playing the games was approximately 20% lower in comparison to those not playing video games. With approximately 5% of the population suffering from depression and 13% suffering from anxiety, it is apparent that video games have potential in reducing the personal impact of these disorders.

Achieving Pain Relief Through Video Games

The last health benefit to mention here is the ability of video games to manage pain. Research conducted by the University of Southern California found that both children and adults immersed in virtual reality games were far less aware of their pain. Even taking into account the distracting effects of playing the video games, the researchers observed that the response to pain by the brain was altered. Given the number of people who suffer from chronic pain, these research results are promising as an alternative to the chronic use of pain killing medications.

Conclusions

With so much money and time being spent on video games, it makes sense to look at these activities to understand the effects that they have on our health. Fortunately, some evidence indicates that video games can have health benefits. With the increasing numbers of video games that involve a physical component, these benefits are likely to increase. Since physical activity is such a contributor to overall health and too many of us are at risk from being inactive, any health benefits that we can gain from video games are good news.

A subsequent article will look at the negative health effects of all this time spent in playing video games.

Related Links

http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxstnd.htm

http://www.esrb.org/about/video-game-industry-statistics.jsp

https://www.npd.com/lps/Entertainment_Trends2009/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20118481-17/91-percent-of-kids-are-gamers-research-says/

http://share.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/root2/2011/Activigat/

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/10/10802/computer-games-help-people-parkinsons-disease

http://www1.tau.ac.il/pressoffice/index.php/press/research/1409-070409.html

http://www.aao.org/newsroom/release/20111023.cfm

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/newsstory.cfm?ID=1906

http://www.tamiu.edu/newsinfo/7-08-10/article5.shtml

http://www.ampainsoc.org/press/2010/video_games.htm

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