According to scientific studies, playing video games can soothe pain
The video game absorbs the attention until we forget the passage of time… and even the pain. This was shown by a study carried out with severe burn victims, then in other work on chronic diseases. The researchers found a 30% to 50% reduction in pain. The fun of the game creates a powerful diversion of attentionand causes a release of endorphins with painkilling effects.
Serious games, these drug games. They have been developing for a few years to become therapeutic tools in their own right. Some help promote recovery after a stroke (MediMoov)to help people with Alzheimer’s disease (X-Torp)or even Parkinson’s (ToapRun).
Thinking games have shown their benefit in training your brain
Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training Program, Portal 2, The Room Three… some video games require you to work on your memory and your concentration, abilities that wear out easily! It’s about solving puzzles or challenges as quickly as possible. A few years ago, the scientific community agreed that they found no interest in these games. Recently, however, studies have shown benefits on memory children with cancer, or the ability of older people to manage daily tasks, such as driving. This is what researchers at the University of Iowa (United States) have tested, with a game called Road Tour. A panel of players over 50 had to spot cars and traffic signs in an increasingly complex environment. According to the results of the study, playing 2 hours a week would already have a positive impact on cognitive functions.
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Why are simulation or war games good for your health? They reduce stress
They are named terraria, Minecraft Where the Sims… these video games propel us into a world far from reality, where we can disconnect from all our worries. “Immersion is much more powerful than with a book or a film, says psychologist Milan Hung, because we are active. » Simulation games, where you create and enrich a world, called “sandboxes”, are particularly interesting for the welfare.
” Animal Crossing was for example played a lot during the confinement, because he had a reassuring character, develops the psychologist Vanessa Lalo. It anchored us in a temporality, with repetitive tasks. For Milan Hung, the notion of control, with the idea that everything always goes as planned, is also soothing.
Against all odds, the war games as call of duty Where Battlefield must also be classified in the “anti-stress” category. “They allow let off steamto channel and externalize one’s impulses”, emphasizes Vanessa Lalo.
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- Dinosaur Fossil Hunter, from €3 to €17
- My Time at Sandrock, €24.99
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, from €37 to €115
According to a study on the brain, to slow brain aging play platform games
Super MarioInside, Ori and the Black Forest… Known to all video game enthusiasts, these games consist of passing levels with an avatar. Super Mario, in particular, is one of the best-selling games of all time. A German team studied its impact on 23 adults aged 25, for a playing time of 30 minutes a day, for 2 months. Result: an MRI showed a increased gray cells in areas of the brain responsible for memory, navigation in space, organization and motor skills of the hands. However, increasing your gray matter makes it possible to maintain the connections between neurons over time, and to fight against brain aging.
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- Pac-Man World Re-Pac, from €18.95 to €9.99
- Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiros from €19.99 to €29.99
What are the advantages of shooting games? They maintain eyesight and reflexes
Titanfall, Valorant… also called FPS (first-person shooter)those shooting games are no longer criticized as much as they were a few years ago. “It has been proven that they absolutely do not develop the violence of the players “, emphasizes Vanessa Lalo. Researchers from the University of Rochester (United States) have, on the contrary, highlighted positive effects on reflexes and sight. At the controls, our character risks being attacked from all sides and at any time, which forces us to look very quickly in several places at the same time, and to grasp the slightest variations in the environment. The researchers noticed that gamers were particularly good at spotting faint changes in light. This quality, which seems like nothing, is very useful for night driving.
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- Shadow Warrior 3, from €16 to €50
To improve adaptability: strategy games
Starcraft, Age of Empires, Anno… RTS (Real-time strategy) ask the player to manage resources, develop bases and defend against enemies. Two English universities have studied the impact of a specific playing time – 40 hours for 2 months or 5 hours per week – on people who had to play Starcraftor to simsa game of the type Sandbox. Those who had chosen Starcraft have shown better coping skills psychology tests carried out after 2 months. “If video games have no impact in the real world, the qualities that we acquire there, in particular adaptation and rapid decision-making, are largely transposable”, concludes Milan Hung.
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- Moonbreaker from €23 to €30
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