Benefits you gain from being good at games

In recent years, the online gaming industry has rocketed to success, in which it’s now one of the highest revenue generating industries in the world. Valued at $155 billion in 2020, this figure is expected to rise significantly by 2025 as more people than ever are gaining access to and showing an interest in online gaming.

While online gaming has received some bad press in the past, new technology and improved gaming mean that players can actually benefit significantly from online gaming. From various health benefits to cognitive and skill development, online games are now proving they’re not just all about the entertainment factor.

With such a huge variety of games to play, from online casino games, to action video games on platforms like Google Stadia and even online bingo through providers like 888 ladies bingo, there’s so much to choose from when it comes to what type of game to invest your time in.

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the top benefits players can gain from being good at online games.

Perseverance

Life can be a challenging journey sometimes, in which it’s essential for people to build up perseverance and to not let small setbacks get them down. Gaming is a great way to develop this skill as many games require perseverance through challenging scenarios, many of which can often set a player back a few levels or require them to start again.

Developing this skill can help in many other aspects of life, from learning a new academic skill, to persevering in a challenging situation in the workplace. It’s also an essential component of being good at any sport or miscellaneous talent, where practice makes perfect.

Enhance brain function

Gaming has been proven to improve the brain function of many.

Recent studies have found that playing video games has been linked to building gray matter in the brain - which essentially increases the size of your brain and enhances brain power. An enhanced brain is superior in memory, spatial orientation, information processing and fine motor skills.

All of these aspects are important at any stage of life but could be particularly helpful in helping older adults to maintain optimal cognitive function, which in turn would enhance the quality of their life.

Improve eyesight

Ever struggled with seeing different colours clearly? While there’s a lot of information out there about how blue light emitted from electronics is not good for our eye health, studies have shown that video games can in fact have some benefits for our vision.

Playing video games for a short amount of time each day has been linked to aiding people to see different shades of colour more clearly. This could be to do with the visual stimulation of video games that exercise the eyes, although more studies need to be done before any medical advice is taken in this area.

Helping people with Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty where people have difficulty identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. If not recognised from a young age, Dyslexia has the potential to hinder young people’s development well into their adulthood.

Studies have shown that video games can help with Dyslexia by improving reading comprehension following a period of playing video games. Researchers believe the reason for this is that video games require a high amount of concentration in short bursts due to the continually changing environment. As such, people with Dyslexia who play video games may have improved concentration levels, helping them to read, write and speak more efficiently.

Problem solving

Problem solving is one of the biggest keys to life and is essential in overcoming problems, no matter how large or small. Many video games offer puzzle-like features or mysteries that need solving, requiring people to try out different perceptions and approaches in order to find a solution.

Problem solving is a key skill for numerous areas in life, from maintaining personal relationships, to succeeding in the workplace and even in managing everyday life.

Help ease pain

Chronic pain can have a significant effect on a person's quality of life, in which it’s incredibly important that it’s monitored effectively. Studies have shown that video games have a pain killing effect on the body, known as an analgesic response. The more immersive the video game, the greater the effect has been proven to be.

As such, hospitals around the world have begun providing patients with virtual reality games to help manage pain.

While we don’t recommend you pull out the video games next time you have a migraine, playing video games is an effective approach to dealing with long term pain management.

Improve mental health

Many online games like bingo have a social aspect to the game where people can interact with other players in a chatroom and mingle with people who have similar interests. This is especially beneficial for people who may be isolated at home, such as those that are sick or full time parents.

According to Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, love and belonging is an essential factor in our health and is critical for people to be able to live their most fulfilled life. Video games can help with this by offering a source of socialisation and a place of belonging where people are struggling to find this in the everyday world.

Overall, while video gaming is incredibly entertaining, it also has a variety of benefits to our physical and mental health and can aid in developing key traits and skills that help us in all parts of life. So, what are you waiting for?

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