How Video Games Affect your Brain

By: Ryan Varela | 

Video games have become a major form of leisure and recreation for almost every generation. These come in several categories including action packed, puzzle, word, and role playing games. With the fast changing innovations in the field of technology, more advanced softwares have been developed and produced. These include more vibrant images, entertaining sounds, and mind boggling challenges. The updates offered users a more enjoyable and fun experience. It also allows them to positively develop their mental skills through careful planning and strategizing. On the other hand, negative effects have also arisen that greatly affects the individual physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Some of the positive effects of video games that play a complex role in brain development of an individual were as follows:

Problem Solving Skills

Several skills are being improved and acquired with the regular playing of video games. The brain training may be enhanced with the positive gaming experience. Research shows that exposures to tasks and challenges lead to an increase in the activity of the different brain regions. The skills learned thru playing can be used and transferred to real life. Improvement of the memory, attention, and processing speed were some of the skills acquired by training on a certain task, such as playing video games.

Decision Making and Fast Analysis

Quick decision making based on critical analysis is enhanced with constant calculations and probabilities. Studies showed that the brain undergoes deep work out and training by playing video games, especially the action packed ones.

Cognitive Control

Cognitive control is greatly being practiced while playing video games. The reactive and proactive inhibitions are being enhanced. The different levels also allow one to practice task switching and even working memory. The improvement in cognitive control of an individual is widely shown and linked to the different sessions of gaming.

Move Quickly, but Accurately

Action games allow better brain training with regards to quick decision making. This is done without losing any sense of accuracy. The fast paced games allow the brain to act and move fast in order to win the game.

Anticipation Strategy

The anticipation strategy allows players to have telescoping skills. This refers to having and keeping long term goals in the mind while facing and dealing with several problems on hand. Learning this kind of technique or strategy will benefit the gamer.

Some of the negative effects and downsides of video games in the brain that should be given attention were as follows:

Argumentativeness

Studies reveal that those who are addicted to video games tend to achieve poor grades. They tend to fight a great deal with other people. Bad gaming habits are being developed leading to negative actions like skipping classes and not studying.

Exposure to violent content

The continuous playing of video games, especially the action ones, may trigger negative effect to the emotional and attentional regions of the brain. The violence showed and played repeatedly may diminish the emotional responses of a person towards violent and unwanted situations. This may lead to loss of empathy and aggressive behavior.

Poor Concentration

The person’s concentration is greatly affected by the attitude towards video games. Research shows that it can enhance concentration ability for short term only. But long term concentration is damaged with the regular playing of video games.

Increased Depression and Anxiety

Excessive playing of video games may increase the risk of depression and anxiety. This may also cause social phobias, especially in children. If not properly handled, the depression may lead to a more serious problem.

Sleep and vision problems

Playing video games may be addictive. The time required to play the game may increase as one increase in level. Challenges became more extreme that players didn’t want to stop until the level is finished. This leads to lack of rest and sleep that may affect the proper thinking of the person. Moreover, too much exposure to gadgets’ screen can cause vision problems and other eye complications.

The technological innovations have positively and negatively affected the lifestyle of most people. It is important to become aware of the pros and cons of these changes and innovations. Understand the different effects as it greatly affects the healthcare, wellness, and overall being of the person. Make sure that games being played are educational, reasonable, and beneficial. Be responsible and spread responsibility.

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Ryan Varela is the CEO of Boost Health Insurance which provides customized and affordable health care plans for thousands of customers across the United States. 

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Study Reveals Yet Another Reason to Limit Kids’ Screen Time

There is ample research which should give parents pause when considering whether to let the TV babysit their kids. One study even suggests that too much tube time can lead to poor bone health later on.

I don’t like to bash TV. A decade ago, I worked with teen moms and their babies in a group-home setting, and nothing seemed to calm the little ones quite like Baby Einstein videos. Those videos also had a soothing effect on my nieces and nephews when they were babies.

Baby Einstein videos are both colorful and educational, and they benefit adults, too, by helping them to not lose their minds.

However, in excess, TV can be very harmful to children, both physically and psychologically. The evidence is overwhelming.

Science says you can tell the difference between children who were regularly being read to in infancy and children who were entertained by a TV or some other form of electronic screen by how talkative they are.

The interactive activity of reading to a child tends to produce “chattier” kids, whereas kids who are left to zone out in front of the boob tube don’t have as much to say. This is because children who are read to end up developing better language skills.

Last year, a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting revealed that kindergarten-age children who watched more than an hour of TV a day were 39% more likely to become overweight and 86% more likely to be obese by the time they entered 1st grade.

Yet another study, published in 2013 by Public Health England, showed that British kids who spent most of their time in front of TVs and computer screens had more depression and anxiety, and limited social interaction and physical activity. [1]

The latest study, known as the longitudinal Raine study, followed 2,900 prenatal clinic patients enrolled in utero by their mothers. Researchers checked the children at birth and then at 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, 17, and 20 years of age.

Complete data were provided on TV watching, bone mass, physical activity, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D, dietary calcium intake, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption of 1,181 individuals in the 2,900 cohort.

Parents reported their child’s TV-watching habits at ages 5, 8, and 10 years of age. The children self-reported at ages 14, 17, and 20.

Participants who consistently watched 14 hours of TV per week were found to have lower bone mineral content than those who watched less TV, even after researchers adjusted for physical activity, height, body mass, calcium intake, vitamin D levels, alcohol, and smoking, all at age 20. [2]

The authors wrote:

“Since attainment of optimal peak bone mass is protective against osteoporosis later in life, reducing sedentary time in children may have long-term skeletal benefits.” [2]

The researchers believe that healthy bone growth may be adversely affected by the high- fat and high-sugar foods that typically go hand-in-hand with long hours of TV watching. [1]

It’s also possible that spending large amounts of time sitting motionless could cause systemic changes in bone metabolism, as often seen in bed rest studies.

It’s understandable that a child may not want to play outside on a 95-degree day, but the dog days of summer shouldn’t be spent in front of the TV. Opt for a trip to the pool, or find an indoor activity that requires your child to concentrate and move around a little.

Sources:

[1] HCPLive.com

[2] ScienceDaily

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.