The Health Advantages and Disadvantages of Playing Video Games to Your Brain

Today, more and more people are playing video games. They are becoming an element important to society. According to The Entertainment Software Association, the average amount that people play video games is around 6.5 hours a week. Researchers tend to focus on the negative effects that video games can have on a person, but studies show that engaging in video games can be very beneficial, especially when it comes to physical skills, brain functions, and psychological problems.

Physical skills are very important to a person's health. Little kids who play interactive games have been shown to have improved motor skills. They can kick, throw, and catch better than kids who do not play video games. A team of researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, conducted an experiment with two groups of people, video gamers and non-video gamers. The two groups were asked to complete a task on a computer that required people to coordinate with hand movements with what they saw on the screen. They were to track a dot that moved in a complicated, repetitive pattern.

In the end, the gamers were performing significantly better than the non-gamers. The researchers concluded that the hand-eye coordination is enhanced by gaming and can make everyday tasks so much easier. The influence that video games have on physical motor skills have a positive influence on basic skills, such as, precession, aiming, speed, dexterity, or tremar. Vision is also improved, mostly telling the difference between shades of grey. This could be very useful for driving at night, reading x-rays, or plotting a plane. There are so many ways that we use physical skills and video games can help improve the way we do and see things.

Order custom essay The Health Advantages and Disadvantages of Playing Video Games to Your Brain with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

The brain is our source for all thinking, processing, and creativity. Without our brain, a person could not function. If a person could play video games and help make their brain more reliable and stronger, why would they not do it? Several Neurologist are digging deeper into how video games help the brain and the only results they tend to get are positive. The University of California-Irvine researchers found that video games directly correlate to boosting memory over time.

The study showed that video games help to cope with, and directly respond to, stressful decision making. The study also showed that gamers can be much better at problem solving than non-gamers. The study included all the gamers answering five problem solving questions correctly within seconds, while the non-gamers only answered one correctly. Since studies are showing that games are becoming very beneficial to the brain, more and more parents are buying their kids interactive video games that will help boost their learning capabilities.

One in every five Americans is diagnosed with a mental health issue. Instead of going to a therapist to help with your issues, a cheaper and more effective way could just be playing video games. A study by the Michigan State University's Jason Moser, participants who took part in the study of playing video games showed less anxiety and more focus. It was considered that it would take less focus and would cause more anxiety, but the researchers were wrong. It did the total opposite. There is also evidence that shows that video games can reduce the symptoms of depression.

At the University of Auckland in New Zealand, researchers asked 94 young people that have been diagnosed with depression to play a game called SPARX and in many cases, the game reduced the symptoms more than conventional treatment. Mental issues affect people in many dark and depressing ways. There are so many options that can help mental issues, but video games are becoming a very easy and more popular way that can help a person get over their issue.

While Video games are helping people in good ways, they are also many ways that video games are damaging people. It is estimated that around one-third of Americans are obese and this is blamed on bad diets and sedentary lifestyles. A report in Journal of Adolescence directly linked childhood obesity to activity in video games. Children are choosing to stay inside and play games on the television instead of going outside to play and get fresh air. Children's academic performance is also declining.

A report in Issues in Mental Health Nursing has confirmed that violent video games are related to attention problems and lead to a great decline in academic performance. Another affect video games have on people is that it causes sleep deprivation. Some people spend hours and hours playing video games. They lose the track of time and end up not getting the nights rest that they need.

Over time they become more and more tired and this leads to chronic health problems, such as, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Playing video games every now and then is not a bad thing. It can do so much good. Spending too much time can lead to damaging the person that someone is, whether that is someone's physical or internal being.

Playing video games can be extremely important, not only for your brain or physical being, but for a person's happiness. If playing video games is what makes a person happy, then it is only fair to let them be happy. Video games are not bad and should not be seen that way. They should be seen as something that can improve a person's health, such as their physical skills, brain function, and psychological problems. It is also important that a person does branch out and do other things, but it should never be seen as an issue in today's society.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer