Gone are the days when playing video games was mere a leisure activity. Welcome to the new world of video games which are part of the solution to some of the problems in our society. Among all our problems as a society, and as men, health is the greatest concern.
We all know that men and women are different. Gender health comparisons have shown that men are at higher health risk than women. In an article published by the Harvard University, men face greater health risks that women in diseases from cardiovascular, to obesity, to septicemia.
This article highlights five health benefits to men from playing video games, helping them to stay fit and competitive:
- Gaming will enhance your mind – Men face cognitive disorders as they age (Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia). Playing video games can be a part of your overall disease management program. Research shows that playing video games can enhance the mind’s abilities right from perception to reasoning and judgment into taking critical life’s decisions.
- Games help to reduce stress – Our competitive world will create a lot of mental and physical hardship for men. Stress can build up when you are working to meet your demands. Stress can lead to severe health issues. Playing video games can reduce your stress as your mind releases hormones that will improve your state of mind.
- Games can improve your coordination- In order to do well and win at video games, it will require higher levels of hand-eye coordination. You need to focus on the minor details which enhance your ability to differentiate between similar things. Also, it has been shown that video games improve motor abilities and gamers have have enhanced sensorimotor skills.
- Gaming will help with pain management- Playing video games produce a natural analgesic in the your cortical system, resulting in pain relief. Video games will distract your mind from pain. They may even be a key part of your post-injury physical therapy. Video games have far fewer side effects than strong pain killers, which can lead to blood thinning and also have numerous side effects.
- Gaming can be a positive addiction – Alcohol is one of the major addictions that men face today. Alcohol will alter your overall thinking and how you perceive the world. Liver and kidney damage is among the other health related issues that arise due to excessive consumption of alcohol. Playing video games will relax your mind, and help to distract you from your need of alcohol due to anxiety or stress. Most video games involve a higher level of cognitive processing, which will keep your mind engaged and alert.
Photo by Franco Dal Molin