Some people believe that playing video games and online gaming, in general, can be detrimental to your emotional and mental health. However, there are many reasons why playing games can also benefit your cognitive abilities; from improving dexterity to developing problem-solving skills, gaming skills can be put to good use in the outside world.
Cognitive Skills Development
When you play any types of games, such as video games, board games, poker or online bingo games, you need to concentrate and work out your gaming strategy. This level of concentration develops your mental agility and problem-solving skills, as you are forced to think about your next move and work to improve your chances of winning.
You’ll also improve your dexterity and reaction times from playing video games and other games that require a fast response, such as bingo. For example, when playing bingo you need to listen for the bingo caller and mark the numbers off on your card quickly, ready for the next call. You need to keep mentally alert so you know when you have won the game. Similarly, when playing video games, you need fast responses to deal with new situations.
Gaming also improves the memory because when we are playing games, we have to hold lots of pieces of information in our minds at once. For example, when playing a video game, we will often have to remember locations in the game, items to pick up, where we need to go and various other useful points about the game.
When playing online casino or bingo games, it can be helpful to remember numbers revealed, cards already dealt, which slot machine symbol combinations result in which payout and so on. There are many ways in which the memory is stimulated while playing games and this can have a beneficial effect on our ability to recall important information in other areas of life.
Health Benefits of Socialising
In addition to the cognitive benefits, gaming can also improve other areas of mental health. Online gaming can be a highly social activity and social interaction has been shown to improve self-esteem and emotional contentment.
While playing online, players can interact with other gamers in chat boxes, collaborate in gaming missions and generally socialise. In online casino and bingo games, players can chat with others in the game, while playing collaborative video games allows you to bond with others and complete levels together.
It might seem less beneficial to socialise online than in real life, but chatting with friends over games or using an online messenger to communicate can still be very helpful in combating social isolation. People playing video games and bingo games can feel close to other gamers, as they share a major interest and often have similar drives. People also chat about things other than the games, so deeper friendships can be forged that can spill into other areas and even lead to real life meetings.
Attention Span and Strategy
Games can also have an interesting benefit in terms of improving a players attention span. By playing games, you develop the ability to notice lots of small details at once and learn to combat impulsiveness. When concentrating on a video game, the player must quickly assimilate lots of conflicting information and learn to focus on the most important things, blocking out the irrelevant information.
The players must also know when to act and when to wait, in order to maximise the success of their interactions with the game. For example, when playing blackjack online, a player needs to consider when to take another card and when to stick with their current hand. In a video game, the player needs to think about the next course of action and consider the long-term benefits over short-term gain, keeping in mind the overall objective of the game as a whole. This is a beneficial approach for entrepreneurs looking to build a lasting company.
Gaming can benefit your mental health in many ways. By improving the physical function of the brain with the many cognitive benefits, to developing better social skills, gaming can have a positive impact on real-life situations. In addition to this, the strategies employed by successful gamers can also be used in the business world to focus on long-term growth.
How do you feel gaming enhances your mental health?