Health Benefits of Video Gaming

Donnie Rhett Koonce lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he works as an ophthalmic technician at Chatlotte Optometric Clinic, with consistent, direct patient contact to conduct glaucoma and blood pressure screenings. Donnie Rhett Koonce enjoys playing the piano, playing the drums, and video gaming during his leisure time.

The general perception of video games is that they provide no real benefits other than entertainment. Still, research has shown that they can positively impact an individual’s mental and physical health. Though there are numerous advantages to video gaming, such as improved addiction management and healthy brain stimulation.

Video gaming is an effective mental exercise, and studies have shown that regularly playing video games can boost brain function and brain connectivity and increase brain size. This effect improves memory, spatial orientation, fine motor skills, and other cognitive features.

Also, according to studies, playing video games for a reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable distance can result in improved vision. In one study, 10 non-gaming male students were tested against 10 non-gamers after 30 hours of training in first-person action games. Compared to their untrained counterparts, the trained students had improved spatial resolution, allowing them to see objects more clearly in cluttered spaces. This was because they had to train their brains to notice small details in the games they played.