Do Video Games Have Health Benefits?

Some people think video games are the bane of society, saying they make kids fat, lazy, and violent. The CDC just released a report that says the average video game player is 35, overweight, and may be depressed. However, with the advent of products like the Wii Fit, there are those out there who argue that video games are actually beneficial to people’s health. Is this actually true?

Let’s start out with the issue of mental health. The CDC study says that older video game players use games as a form of ‘digital self medication.’ Other research put a different spin on that concept. One study said that people who played the game Bejeweled, showed “improved mood and heart rhythms compared with volunteers who weren’t playing.” They argue that this is because people in our society find it difficult to relax, and require a certain level of stress at all times. It’s possible that video games offer just the right balance between stress and relaxation. The catch is, this study was commissioned by Popcap games (the maker of Bejeweled), and it was just a preliminary study.

The researchers at Popcap games are not the only ones who believe that games can help with relaxation though. There is another company, called HeartMath, which offers a computer program called the emWave that is supposed to “prevent, manage and reverse the negative effects of stress, anxiety, fatigue, depression and more.” The program offers “three colorful games designed to help you transform stress into creative energy.” The software works like this: the user attaches a finger or ear sensor to their body and the program tracks their pulse. Information about your heart rhythms are then shown with “friendly graphics.” This product can be yours for the low low price of $300, or $200 for a handheld version. Maybe that’s a steep price, but hey, the website says the research behind this product is peer reviewed.

Even the health insurance company Humana is in on this healthy games idea. They have a website called Humana Games for Health. This website points to some truly interesting research in defense of video games, although the source of the research is not always mentioned. They say that surgeons who play video games three hours a week commit fewer errors, and work faster than those who don’t. It argues that children who play disease management games understand their disease better. In the case of asthma patients who used these games, emergency room visits dropped by 40%. I will just quickly run down the other benefits they mentioned. Video games can improve senior’s cognitive abilities and reaction time, playing shooting games can improve vision, and video games are often used for physical therapy (including at Walter Reed Army Medical Center). As for the actual games on the website, they have some interesting games for mental stimulation, but I’m not sure the one where I’m simulating riding a bike with my fingertips will have much effect on my physical activity level.

It does seem pretty clear that video games can actually have health benefits, and this idea is becoming fairly mainstream. Whether it is Wii fit or Dance Dance Revolution for physical activity, Brain Age for mental stimulation, or some remedial game for disease management, there are benefits to playing video games. Maybe the health care reform bill should include a stipulation requiring all surgeons to play Grand Theft Auto three hours a week as well.