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9 Reasons Why Playing Video Games is Good for Your Brain

People who are not into video games often relate them to laziness, but most experienced gamers know that is not true. There are a lot of studies and researches that give us a piece of evidence that these games can even improve your brain functions and may have a lot of cognitive benefits. The truth is that every game requires less or more brain activity, so the player can create an appropriate winning strategy. That’s real proof that video games are not just losing precious time, but they also have some benefits for our mental health.

If we are honest, every one of us played games at some point in our life, no matter what type it was. Video games may improve social skills and have a positive effect on your mood.

Here are a few examples of how beneficial can these games be for your brain:

1. You have a better memory

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Most of the games require a good memory, so you can easily “connect the dots” and come to a better strategy. You must be concentrated on the details, make analogies, and remember the patterns, so you can win the game. This way of thinking improves your memory and you are more likely to copy them to your real-life behavior. Video games are like a workout to your brain. For example, if you get lost or can’t find something, you can imagine that you are in a game and find a way out of your situation.

2. It helps you have a better perception and vision

When you need to pay attention to a lot of details, you need to teach your eyes and brain to pay attention to every sign of movement. That leads to better vision and perception. You can make a difference between the different shades of the same color, or similar shapes. Gamer’s brain can process the image in less than a second and see every detail of the biggest picture. It also helps the people to create personal perception templates and patterns, and that sure is a great brain exercise.

3. Games encourage you to make smart decisions

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What move to make? Which weapon to choose? Will it be smarter to take any action or to wait for the opponent to give up? While we play, we need to make a lot of decisions. The outcome of the game depends on these decisions. If you make a smart move you win. If you make a stupid mistake, you lose. Yes, it’s that simple in real life too.

4. Building up your self-confidence

We use a lot of beautiful things, modern clothes and attractive accessories that make us more appealing. When we feel beautiful and useful, our confidence can reach pretty high levels. But, how games like Call of Duty can help us improve this part of our existence? Modern Warfare weapon camos carry an interesting story because they are used as a splash of paint over the basic features. But, how is this important for self-confidence? According to lfcarry.com, we need to be respectful of the rules, but the video games and all the possibilities they offer can help us build a healthy self-confidence that can be applied to real life.

5. Improve your mood

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When people are stressed or feel anxious, they decide to sleep, read a book, or play some games on their smartphone or computer. Let’s be real. How many of you instantly felt better after just a few moves and smart decisions for your game? When we have a bad day, a winning game session will help us improve our mood, making us happier and more confident. So, if you are a parent of a child that plays a lot of games, don’t hurry to judge them that they are lazy and addicted to the computer. They may use the game as a coping mechanism, to avoid the stress and maintain a better mood.

6. You solve problems easily

While you train your brain during the game, you are improving your cognitive skills. You will be surprised how easy you solve even the problems that may seem too complicated for you. Maybe video games don’t take all the credit about that, but they sure help you create healthy problem-solving patterns, that are useful in your everyday life.

7. Improving your social skills

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When you play some video games online, you need to communicate with the other team members or with the opponents. That will also improve your real-life social and communication skills. You won’t be ashamed to start some conversation, or even to discuss more sensitive or controversial topics with your friends and family.

8. Keeping your spirit young

The term “game” is always related to kids and young people. But, that doesn’t mean that adults can’t join some video games and play it together with their younger counterparts. When you communicate and socialize with young people, you also keep your spirit young and energized, never mind your real age.

9. Making you ready to learn new things

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When you play some video games, you need to remember patterns, create strategies, and be aware of the new moments that are coming with the higher levels of it. Every change needs to be acknowledged and accepted, and that means you need to adapt your strategy to it. This process will help you learn new things and be more opened and curious about the recent changes and new discoveries in almost every field of life.
Knowing all of these benefits, we can say that most people have a wrong perception of the games and how they can affect the mental condition of those who play. Most of the adults think that playing video games is equal to losing time for nothing, but they are not right. This article will help them see the difference and acknowledge the possible benefits of these games. And who knows? Maybe they will try to play them by themselves.

About Suzan Vega