Can Video Games Actually Make You Smart?

Video games are a fun way to escape from reality, but other people think they're violent, pointless, and a waste of time. There has been a long-running discussion on whether there are any advantages. Do video games genuinely improve cognitive abilities?

While they might be a delightful way to escape from reality, video games are sometimes characterized as violent, broccoli-like things. Broccoli may truly be poisonous in very high amounts. Heck, poisoning in water does occur. Thus, the hazards are probably more than the advantages if you binge and spend all of your time playing video games. We even have a whole film about the dangers of sitting and what would happen if you stopped going outside—the link is in the description!

That being said, a number of studies have demonstrated that playing video games really improves cognitive performance. In one particular research, participants spent two months playing Super Mario 64 for thirty minutes every day. Afterwards, compared to individuals who had not participated, the brains of these participants showed an increase in grey matter in regions linked to memory, hand-eye coordination, and strategic planning. These are especially positive findings for mental illnesses because playing video games as therapy causes these brain areas to decrease.

It may surprise you to learn that playing action games might make people more detail-oriented. Watch the following words appear on the screen, then quickly identify each word's color! So, orange, blue, and green. Now, try it a little quicker without me. It gets harder as we go forward since the term and its color are at odds with one another. If you play action games for more than five to ten hours a week, you probably have a lot greater speed at solving these puzzles.

This is due to the fact that the attention-related areas of your brain function more effectively.

Of course, there is also a lot of instructional value in video games! Even while you might not be using some of your favorite games for this reason, there are plenty of games that work well as educational aids for kids and adults alike.

They could even improve dyslexic children's reading comprehension. In another tiny research, dyslexic kids who regularly played video games were able to read more properly and quickly, which was again related to better attention spans.

In the meanwhile, improvements in vision have been reported in other investigations. They are not only better at distinguishing between different shades of gray, but they can also perceive finer details, such as microscopic lettering, with greater clarity. Action gamers with a lot of experience were 58% more adept at recognizing subtle contrast variations. It is significant since one of the first things that deteriorates with aging is this. There is evidence of enhanced attention and memory even in the elderly. More significantly, studies have demonstrated that playing specifically created brain-teasing video games can delay brain aging by up to seven years. This is because they demand brain effort and are intellectually challenging!

Ultimately, as technology keeps evolving and changing medicine, cameras and remote-controlled instruments are being inserted during surgery. Additionally, because these procedures feature a screen and a controlling device, they clearly resemble video games. It should come as no surprise that younger doctors who have played video games before complete tasks more quickly and with fewer mistakes.

Naturally, none of these abilities are helpful until you put them to use, which is impossible if all you do is play video games. Thus, take use of your free time and unwind with your games in moderation, but also get out and maintain a varied social life. Because you'll succeed in life's game if you do that.