For those of you that think video games are a waste of time, then you need to read this. Studies across the globe have shown that playing video games can actually help peoples’ brains. As a matter of fact, here are five specific facts about gamers’ brains that you didn’t know.
1. GAMERS’ BRAINS MAY LAST LONGER
The University of Iowa conducted a study and it showed how playing video games two hours a week may slow down the aging process of people. The study looked at 681 people over the age of 50 and, in some cases, playing ten hours of video games slowed the aging process by up to seven years!
2. GAMERS’ MAY BE BETTER AT VIRTUAL SURGERY THAN SURGEONS
There was a test conducted by The University of Texas Medical Branch and they had high school gamers, college gamers, and medical residents compete to see who scored the best in a virtual surgery. Well, the study found that the high school gamers did much better than the other two. So, gamers’ brains are better at virtual surgery than those of real life medical residents!
3. YOUNGER GAMERS’ BRAINS READ BETTER
If you thought that video games were bad for kids’ brains, then you were sadly mistaken. The University of Padua conducted a study and it proved that playing fast-paced video games helped dyslexic kids read better.
4. STRATEGY GAMES HELP GAMERS’ BRAINS
Some British researchers have found that strategy games, like Starcraft, can actually increase a gamer’s brain flexibility. To be honest, this one makes perfect sense because strategy games can make gamers’ brains think a lot.
5. SUPER MARIO 64 IMPROVES MOTOR SKILLS
A while back, German researchers asked a group of adults, aged with a median of 25, to play Super Mario 64 thirty minutes every day for two months. Using an MRI machine, they came to the conclusion that this helped those people with memory formation and fine motor skills.
