Do the video games that our children and many adults obsessively play today generate any benefits, or are the effects of this electronic and technological wizardry detrimental to our overall health and wellness as a society? This is a question that has plagued many parents and doctors for decades now.
The answer can most definitely be “yes” on both accounts.
FIRST, THE BAD
Video gaming has created, in many instances, negative physical health concerns for our overall fitness and physical wellbeing. We even have newly named conditions such as “Tech-Neck,” which arises from the hours of time that individuals sit with their necks flexed in a downward position in order to view their video screen on a tablet or a phone. This condition is certainly not limited to video gamers alone. Many adults also spend hours a day looking down at the screen of their phones or tablets while they surf the web or burn many hours posting and reading messages on Facebook or emails.
Further, looking at a computer screen for hours on end can cause eye fatigue and visual pathological changes as well.
We also have to consider the physical deconditioning that occurs when our children or we ourselves sit for hours playing on our phone, tablet, or laptop. You may have heard, sitting is considered the new smoking. This is due to the detrimental effects that it has on our overall health and wellness. I certainly agree with this, because the lack of activity leads to many adverse effects physically such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and much more. Conversely, any type of physical exercise will improve not only our physical health, but studies demonstrate that physical activity improves brain function as well.
Research has also linked simple video gaming to a subsequent increase in aggressive behavior in children, even after accounting for prior aggressive behavior.
So, we can agree that these and many other things are detrimental to our physical health.
NOW, THE GOOD
With the known detriments aside, I would like to focus on cognitive health in those who partake of the video game “hobby” routinely.
As you may know, both my father and my grandfather suffered from the ravages of cognitive impairment. Ultimately, they were both diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Notice that I do not call the condition a “disease.” I do that because research is demonstrating that Alzheimer’s is actually a condition of lifestyle choices for the most part. But that is a discussion for another time.
As a result of my family history, I am always looking for things that enhance our cognitive abilities and stave of cognitive decline. And new research is now demonstrating that video gaming appears to have positive affects on our cognitive abilities.
We now know that technology actually exercises your brain, but believe it or not, it has also been shown to exercise your muscles as well. Certain video games are more effective at this than others, and the term that has been used to qualify these games as beneficial to not only your brain health but also your physical health as well is “exergaming.” The term is reserved to those video games that incorporate gaming with moving your body and using your muscles. An example would be the difference between just riding a stationary bike versus riding a stationary bike while watching a video screen and racing against other “virtual bikers.”
Researchers in both Norway and Germany demonstrated this by performing brain scans on people who were exergaming. They found that exergaming stimulated brain function and produced positive cognitive effects.
One of the positive effects found by the researchers was enhancement of what are called “theta waves” in specific areas of the brain. This result caused “improved cognitive processes.” Other research has demonstrated that when you improve theta waves the result is a “very positive mental state.” The researchers noted that exergaming also caused a reduction in alpha waves in the brain. Alpha waves are associated with unfocused thinking.
Further research done at the University of Georgia found that exergaming might be a better fit for those folks who don’t want to get sweaty going to the gym. This important first step could lead to further development for these individuals of a more aggressive exercise program.
Another study in Asia demonstrated that exergaming helped preserve “executive function” in aging adults. Executive function includes an individual’s ability to use flexible thinking, self-control, and working memory.
One study from Brazil indicated that exergaming may be helpful in recovery for stroke patients. Perhaps shortening rehabilitation times, as well as restoring balance and upper limb motor function.
Another study published in JAMA Network titled “Association of Video Gaming with Cognitive Performance in Children” compared video gamers with non-video gamers relative to their cognitive performance. Specifically, the video gamers scored better than non-video gamers in attention and memory processing. The researchers go on to state: “The findings are consistent with video gaming improving cognitive abilities that involve response inhibition and working memory and altering their underlying cortical pathways.”
FINALLY, THE BALANCE
As with most things in life, there is some good to go along with some bad. What we need to do is determine whether the tradeoffs for the good outweigh the potential detrimental bad effects of video gaming. If exergaming causes someone who otherwise gets little to no exercise in their day to get moving both physically as well as cognitively, that is great. If that introduction to some moderate physical activity leads to further exercise for an individual, then I think that we can all agree that would be a good thing, too. However, if the video gaming leads to hours of head-down, physical inactivity, then perhaps a new form gaming might be better for your children or yourself.