How Gaming Improves Focus and Reduces Stress
Gaming has long had a reputation for being a bad habit and one that adversely affects the brain. But research shows there are many benefits to playing video games—even for adults. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced gamer or have never played before, gaming can help you grow in many ways. In this article, we explore how gaming improves focus and reduces stress, the different types of games that are available, and how you can get started playing today.
What Is Gaming Good For?
Unlike the usual beliefs and reactions gamers get, there are in fact many benefits of gaming, including:
- Increased focus
- Increased ability to multitask
- Improved decision-making
- Enhanced creativity
- Improved problem-solving
- Improved communication
- Increased empathy
- Decreased stress
- Improved confidence
How Does Gaming Improve Focus?
Video games have been shown to improve focus for many reasons.
Games force you to concentrate on a single task for long periods at a time, which is essential for increasing your focus.
You must master a game’s controls, become familiar with its environment and storyline, and learn how to overcome its challenges—all of which increase cognitive function.
You must also be able to manage your emotions, as games that are too stressful or frustrating won’t be as helpful.
You can use video games as a tool to help you get your daily dose of focus-improving activities, such as exercise or meditation.
Playing games can also help you develop your attention span, which in turn can boost your overall productivity— benefits you’ll likely notice in your day-to-day life, too.
How Does Gaming Reduce Stress?
Gaming can help you reduce stress in many ways.
You can play games to take your mind off stressful situations. You can also choose games that help you relieve stress, such as puzzles, strategy games, or even virtual reality games that simulate calming activities, like yoga or meditation.
Playing games can also help you relax your body and slow down your heart rate, which can in turn lowers your blood pressure.
Playing games can also help you meet new people, which can be helpful if you’re feeling lonely and want to find new connections.
Some studies even suggest that gaming can lower your cortisol levels—the hormone linked to stress. If these studies are to be believed, playing games can be a great strategy for managing stress.
The Neuroscience of Gaming
Studies have shown that gaming can help improve your brain’s plasticity, or the ability to create new neural pathways and learn new things.
Playing games can help increase the number of neural connections in your hippocampus—the part of your brain that’s responsible for long-term memory.
Games also introduce your brain to new concepts, increase your problem-solving skills, and help you develop strategies for future challenges.
Researchers have also discovered that gaming can help improve your attention, focus, and decision-making skills, as well as develop your creativity.
And virtual reality games can even help you empathize with others by putting you in another person’s shoes—a skill that can be helpful in many different areas of your life.
3 Strategies to Start Playing Games Today
If you haven’t played games before, now is the perfect time to start. New games are released regularly, and most games are inexpensive and easy to access.
If you’re not sure where to start, ask yourself a few questions to figure out what kind of games you should play.
First, do you want to play alone or with friends? If you want to play with friends, what are their interests? Next, decide if you want to play a real-time strategy game, an action game, or something else entirely.
Next, decide what type of game you should play. If you want to improve your focus, choose a game that requires you to use your brain, like puzzles or strategy games. If you want to reduce stress, choose games that are calming, like puzzles or virtual reality games.
What do the various studies conducted on gamers indicate?
Much research has been done on gaming, showing that gaming can improve your focus, reduce your stress, and even increase your empathy.
While playing games has been proven to be beneficial, playing games like Tetris has actually been shown to reduce your ability to focus on a single task at a time.
If you want to reap the full benefits of gaming, choose games that require you to use your brain, challenge you, and are relaxing simultaneously.
And most importantly, make sure you’re playing games you enjoy. While gaming is a great activity that has many benefits, it’s only useful if you actually play.
Requirements for games that lead to improved focus
Playing games that require you to use your brain and that are somewhat challenging are great for increasing your focus.
If you want to play games that help you improve your focus, look for games that have a narrative storyline, puzzles, strategy, or problem-solving elements.
Playing games that are relaxing and calm are also helpful for reducing your stress.
If you want to play games that reduce your stress, look for games that focus on puzzles, strategy, or virtual reality games.
Playing games that are very visual can help you focus while playing games that have a lot of audio elements can be helpful for reducing your stress.
If you want to play the latter, look for games that are calm, soothing, and relaxing.
What do you need to have a great experience gaming?
Any experience typically requires a few elements to produce optimal output. So is the case with gaming, unless you have already invested in the hardware, there may be a requirement for a console, a gaming PC, a gaming chair, headphones etc.
Digging into the world of gaming, you’ll find numerous options to spoil and confuse you with. If you are a PC enthusiast, building a gaming PC is an experience in itself and while this may turn out to be more expensive than the consoles, the fact that you can keep on upgrading and use it not just for gaming but other stuff may make it a better investment.
If however, you need a simple dedicated device that just serves its purpose of giving you incredible enjoyment and not give you any blue-screens, then consoles might be your pick!
You could further decide if you need a handheld or a more powerful, PlayStation 5 or an Xbox.
In addition, a monitor or a TV is another important requirement that you must buy looking at what technology they offer and then some more.
Games that have shown to have a very positive effect on the brain
There are many games that have been shown to have a very positive effect on the brain.
If you want to improve your focus, you can play games like puzzles, strategy games, and real-time strategy games.
If you want to reduce your stress, you can play puzzle games, virtual reality games, and visual novels.
And if you want to increase your empathy, you can play games like visual novels, interactive fiction, and role-playing games.
Summary
This article explores how gaming can improve focus and reduce stress. Gaming can help you develop your cognitive skills, meet new people, and find ways to take your mind off your worries.
Playing games improves your focus, reduces stress, and even increases your empathy. If you want to reap the full benefits of gaming, choose games that require you to use your brain, challenge you, and are relaxing simultaneously.
So the next time you see your kid spending on a PS5 or an Xbox or another gaming console or PC, think of it as an investment towards their mental well-being.
And don’t disturb when they play – they are meditating.
Disclaimer: Like everything, it is better to game responsibly. This list reflects on positive effects but is not a substitute for any medical advice.
