ErinIt is often said that gaming rots your brain. Whoever said this did not have the necessary skills and expertise to make that conclusion. The real experts dispute this and argue that gaming is actually good for you.
There are many benefits of gaming, according to the American Psychological Association and other researchers and analysts. They include from physical, mental, cognitive, and social benefits, and there is a lot of research to back this up. Here is an insight into some of the most noteworthy benefits of gaming, according to the experts.
Benefits of Gaming:
- Improves Your Memory
- Helps You Relax
- Improves Your Spacial Visualization
- Expands Your Learning Capacity
- Improves Problem Solving Skills
- Improves Social Skills
- Gaming Can Earn You Money
Improves Your Memory
How many times have you played your favorite video game? You probably know where everything is, right? This is because gaming is serious business that requires you to concentrate.
For instance, consider the game Minecraft. You are tasked with building a whole new virtual world and alien civilization. It is a game that may take you weeks or months to achieve your goal. When you get back to it tomorrow, you will have a clear idea of where to get certain resources and what to do next. Your understanding of the game will improve every time you play. It turns out that that is great for your memory.
Similar to how you know and remember everything about a game, you will remember about things in the real world better. This was proved when a study conducted by the University of California, which compared the memory skills of a group of gamers and non-gamers, found that gamers remember better and faster compared to the latter. It also found out that the memory capacity of non-gamers improved when they played for at least 30 minutes per day.
Tip: Complex 3D video games are better for your memory capacity compared to ordinary 2D video games. Additionally, including clear and immersive audio will improve your stimuli, thus improving your memory capacity – so invest in a good gaming headset. There are plenty of fun 3D video games that you can try out.
Helps You Relax
Do you have a favorite hobby? Gamers game because they love doing it. Every gamer has a favorite game that makes them have fun and feel excited. They can let go of all their worries as they become immersed in the game. As such, gaming helps them blow off some steam and water down their stress.
Gaming with friends, whether online or in person, also helps with relaxation as you will all be on the same page, and some jokes are bound to fly around. As you well know, gaming takes you to your own world of your own liking, and nothing else matters much when you are glued to the screen.
Tip: Some games are complex, and gamers may make it their mission to complete them. This is fun at first, but do not let your mission turn into an obsession as this will only serve to increase your frustration every time you fail. Also, you should play with/against other gamers often as the company also helps with relaxation. If you’re gaming over long hours, make sure you have a comfortable gaming chair.
Improves Your Spatial Visualization
It turns out that you may be seeing the world a little bit better than non-gamers because of your favorite leisure activity. How? You may be a better judge of distance between two or more objects. You can also re-arrange things better in your mind to neatly fit into spaces. This is according to a research by the American Psychological Association.
Better spatial visualization has practical benefits that go beyond your virtual gaming world. For instance, it can make you a better driver and make parking in tight spaces less of a hassle. It can also make you better at organizing things, which would be great for your house and job. Again, try playing more 3D games to unlock this benefit faster.
Expands Your Learning Capacity
As you play video games, you are stimulating your brain through the visual and audio output. You are curious to know what is around the corner. You are so focused that you ignore everything else and concentrate on what’s on your screen.
As will be highlighted later, this makes kids who play video games smarter at academics than their non-gamer peers. The long concentration spans make their brains more receptive to what they learn in school. They are also better at problem solving, so they can easily get around technical subjects that are considered difficult by non-gamers – it is no wonder that most gamers end up in the tech industry.
So, parents in the house, your kids are not at fault for spending their free time playing video games. In fact, it may be just what they need to get their grades up – after homework of course.
Improves Problem Solving Skills
There is always a set goal in every game, and there are challenges and obstacles put in place for the gamer to overcome and emerge victorious. Gamers try and try until they find ways of overcoming these obstacles. This is both fun and good for your problem solving skills, according to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association. According to the study, kids who played video games performed better at school and had improved problem solving skills compared to kids who didn’t play.
Good problem solving skills are necessary to survive and thrive in the real world. Every day comes with its challenges and problems, and you must find a way to overcome them. It turns out that your life will be less stressful because you play video games.
Tip: Almost every game requires you to solve a problem and achieve a set goal. However, puzzle games are better for your problem-solving skills compared to games in other genres. In fact, there are many game apps designed just for this purpose.
Improves Your Social Skills
There is a common misconception that gamers do not have social lives. This is wrong. In fact, the gaming community may be the most vibrant of all online communities, and most interaction nowadays takes place online anyway.
Most multi-player games require players to be connected to other players online. Most players talk with each other over their headsets’ microphones, but some prefer to chat online. Either way, there is a lot of talking or arguing involved. It may all be gaming lingo, but you get to interact with someone (a friend or total stranger halfway across the world), and you get to make many friends. You also get to be part of a movement by joining the gaming community, where conversations are always taking place.
Tip: Talking to other gamers over the microphone phone does help to improve your social skills, but it is not similar to interacting with other people in person. As such, make some time to go out and link up with friends, and grow your local network of friends just as much as your online network of gamer friends.
Gaming Can Make You Money
How good of a gamer are you? You have probably heard of PewDiePie, the guys who made millions streaming games online on YouTube. He is not alone. There are thousands of people who have found ways of making money through gaming, and some earn six and seven-figure salaries. In fact, there are so many ways to make money through gaming that the average gamer, like yourself, can make good money doing what you love most.
One of the most popular ways of making money through gaming is live-streaming your games, like PewDiePie does – popular streaming sites include Twitch and YouTube. You can also make money competing against other gamers in tournaments. In recent history, major tournaments have offered cash prizes totaling millions of dollars. You can also find plenty of tournaments online. If you are really good, you can make a lot of money testing games for game developers.
Tip: There are many ways to make money from playing video games. However, you will need to be a really good gamer – you should consider choosing one genre or game and sharpen your skills. You also need a stellar online gaming profile as professional gaming demands some attention in the gaming community.
Final Word
It may sound unbelievable considering all the entrenched misconceptions about playing video games, but the experts have proven that video games have many associated benefits. However, check your timing and balance your gaming life and everything else. That way, you can reap benefits for your all around well-being.
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