Video Games Good…for Mind and Body

Gaming is good for both your mind and soul, scientific research has confirmed that video and pc gaming is good for individuals and as a matter of fact, these findings are supported by several studies. It is quite a different approach you have to wrap your head around as for years you heard it will ruin your eyes, you are wasting time inside that could be enjoyed outside and all the rest. Yet according to research gaming does hold health benefits for players body and mind.

Brain Exercising Offered by Games

Both scientific and research organisation have proven that gaming could assist in improving the life quality of mentally ill and disabled patients. One of the main studies, conducted in Germany by Max Planck at the Institute for Human Development found that playing games enhances the size of the brain and at the same time refine learning and hardwired skills. Video and other forms of gaming directly impact and affect the brain regions that are responsible for information organisation and spatial orientation. The outcome of numeral studies reinforced the claim that playing games for even a short period of 30 minutes a day could improve the lives of individuals.

Brain Study – Video Gaming

The game used to test two groups of adults was Super Mario 64, and it had to be enjoyed for 30 minutes per day across two months by the first group. To measure the size of the brain, MRI was used by the scientists. The results within a two-month period confirmed that the gaming was directly linked to the volumetric increase of the brain. Most interesting were the findings on how each part of the brain was affected via gaming.

Prefrontal Cortex Right Hippocampus

This is the decision-making part of the brain also responsible for personality, social behaviour and cognitive planning. Super Mario 64 is a game that requires the participant to plan ahead and take into consideration how to best interact and use objects in the virtual world.

It is the part of the brain that plays a major part in consolidating and the processing of information, which includes both the long-term and short-term memory. This is where scientists saw growth as well, which was caused by participants using the right hippocampus to navigate in the world of Mario.

Cerebellum

This is the part that controls muscular and fine motor skills activity, and it also showed growth due to the gaming activity that requires a quick response. The results were pronounced in gamers who showed a strong desire to beat difficult levels and with first-person shooter games demanding fast action and thinking it has been proved that it massively improves eye-hand coordination. While Wii Fit offers loads of dancing games, sport-inspired games and other movement games that gets participants physically active without them even knowing it, and with at least 30 minutes of activity every day it is a great way to keep exercising.