When you hear that someone is obsessed with video games, you probably imagine a sickly, overweight weirdo fully engulfed in a fictional world. But the reality is quite different.
1. Faster reaction speed
Reaction speed can be greatly increased when playing simulation, skill-based, and action games. In the top-tier gamers, the speed reaches the level of trained military pilots.
2. IQ increases
Many games allow you to improve the ability to retain and recognize information by as much as 50%. These kinds of games can also lead to an increase in the level of intelligence and improvement of your abilities, especially if you’re a little kid.
3. Sharper vision
It is sort of a counter-intuitive thing to say, but video games can improve vision up to 20% if you do not overdo it, of course. So if you play a few hours a day, you won’t need to see an ophthalmologist as often. At least, that’s what the researchers at the University of Rochester found out.
4. Games bring positive vibes
Video games also promote such values as solidarity, friendship, cohesion, and a sense of belonging to a group. It is important that people take advantage of these types of benefits to improve family relationships. There’s also the “dark side” of being in an online clique, but let’s not ruin the mood.
5. Games improve concentration and multitasking
Some gamers can focus on four to six different things at the same time. Many tests also show that gamers have up to 20% higher perception and object recognition skills. They’re basically superhuman.
6. Stress resistance
As a result of playing video games like the infamous Dark Souls, the level of cortisol, which directly regulates stress, will decrease with time. Even solving a simple puzzle can help us feel more chilled out by up to 50%.
7. Develop mental capabilities
Some studies have shown that playing games daily can improve your visual attention, enabling you to be more efficient and faster at switching tasks. The Federation of American Scientists found that students can recall up to 90% of information if they received it through a computer simulation.
8. Agility increase
One study by a group of surgeons found that people who played video games reacted 27% faster and made 37% fewer mistakes than those who did not play. And that percentage would probably double if you were testing a StarCraft veteran or a VR enthusiast. Those virtual reality games really burn up your callories!