Video games are not all bad. Let’s look at the positive side of gaming and the health benefits of video games.
Let’s call a spade a spade…video games are always looked at with suspicion. People are always focusing on the negative affects of video games as parents are extra aware of their child’s screen time now that screens have become an integral part of life. But, the truth is that there are many benefits to gaming. In fact, there are many health benefits to gaming. We have all heard the saying, everything in moderation, gaming is no different. These are some health benefits to video games when used in moderation.
Health Benefits of Video Games
Becoming a good multi-tasker
As any mom, being a good multi-tasker is absolutely essential! When playing video games, especially multi-player ones, research has shown that it increases the ability to multitask. Action games especially, help you develop the skill of receiving multiple pieces of information, process it and then make decisions quickly. Teens are talking to their friends on discord, playing the games, getting attacked in the game and there is so much going on. With that said, handling the multiple sources of information helps to develop better multi-tasking skills.
Increase Cognitive Flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is defined as the ability to adapt behaviors in response to changes in the environment. It refers to the ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts or to think about multiple concepts at the same time. Video games challenge the brain on multiple levels which is what keeps them challenging and entertaining. Video games keep the brain working, switching from the left brain to the right frequently. This increases the brain flexibility and cognitive function. This has also been seen to help gamers learn and retain information for longer.
Increase Focus
How many times have you wished that your child would just sit still and pay attention for longer than they do? I always find it amazing how long my kids can sit and play video games, but when it comes to almost anything else, their attention is lacking! Research has shown that gaming can improve selective attention and sustained attention.
Selective attention refers to the processes that allow an individual to select and focus on particular input for further processing while simultaneously suppressing irrelevant or distracting information. Example of this including reading a loud book on public transportation or having a conversation with a friend in a loud setting. There is a lot going on while kids game between other players playing in the game and other gamers talking in chats, they are required to focus on the task at hand while everything else around them is going on.
Sustained attention is a process that enables the maintenance of response persistence and continuous effort over extended periods of time. Performing attention-related tasks in real life involves the need to ignore a variety of distractions and inhibit attention shifts to irrelevant activities. This essentially means paying attention for long periods of time without become distracted. For example, reading a book, playing a game or fixing something that takes time.
Gaming in fact, helps children increase their focus.
Improve Memory
As a parent, this reason is enough for me to take up gaming! It seems as if I forget was I was doing as soon as I walk into a room. But, enough about that! Gaming has a positive effect on memory. Many of the games kids play require attention to detail. Paying close attention to detail while playing these video games for at least 30 minutes a day helps to improve their memory. This has long term lasting affects as well, so it is something to keep in mind!
Improve Eye Sight
Growing up, my grandfather always said “Don’t sit too close to the TV. You’re going to hurt your eyes!” As is seems, researchers say that when it comes to gaming, this might not be the case. Many research studies have shown that playing video games in moderation help improve the eyes ability to discern color.
Now that you know the health benefits to gaming, ensure that you child has the protection they need while they play with ProtectMe.