If you're a gamer, you probably think that gaming is its own reward, and for sure, spending time gaming can be a great way to pass the time, entertain yourself, your friends, and family, and even meet new people who share your passion. However, it can enhance your life in many more ways besides that too.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at just some of the more surprising ways that gaming can make your life better.
1. It can be your career
With the rise of eSports, it is fair to say that if you are good at it, and you dedicate a lot of serious time to it, gaming could very well become a lucrative career for you. Yes, the competition is fearless and not everyone will make it, but if you believe in yourself and you have what it takes, there is no reason why you could not make gaming your career. Of course, if eSports aren’t your thing, you can design video games, test video games, or go for one of many other lucrative careers in the sector too.
2. It can stop you from getting lost
One of the best things about gaming regularly, especially if you play a lot of roleplaying games where you need to travel around the virtual world you are inhabiting, is that it gets you used to reading a map and finding your way around unfamiliar terrain. This is great news if you are someone who tends to get lost in new locations or who may want to navigate your Mini 3 more precisely to get the shots you want, for example. The better you can navigate, the easier and safer your life is, and gaming can really help you with that.
3. Video games can help you become a doctor
This might seem like a bit of a lofty claim, and of course, in order to be a doctor, you need to be really intelligent and study really hard, first and foremost. That being said, it has been found that surgeons who play video games for more than 3 hours each week are 32% less likely to make errors in laparoscopic surgery than those who do not. So, in a very real way, gaming can train our body to be more precise and therefore, a better candidate for becoming a surgeon!
4. You could be a better leader
As well as potentially making you a better surgeon, gaming can enhance your life, and your career prospects, by helping you to be a better leader too. When you build online communities and you take actions to protect and sustain them in-game, you are developing the kinds of qualities that leaders require to be successful in the real world, and your virtual leadership activities can absolutely rub off onto your real world actions too.
5. Gaming can boost your creativity
If there is one thing that regular gaming can really do it is booting your creativity. For one thing, computer games are like their own unique worlds that you can fully immerse yourself into and have a wonderful time exploring, and for another, many games require you to solve puzzles or build communities, which absolutely require you to use the creative part of your brain.
6. It can help you with dyslexia
If you suffer from dyslexia, it may be worth noting that gaming can help you to improve your reading comprehension by encouraging you to concentrate more effectively on what you are doing. Experts believe it would because you need to fully immerse yourself and concentrate on the complex worlds and plot points within games, and that you can carry this benefit over into the real world.
7. It can promote activity
A lot of people write off gaming as something that is sedentary and which encourages people to become couch potatoes, but this is not necessarily the case. Games like Ring Fit Adventure and Pokemon Go do encourage you to get up and move around, get some exercise, and have fun doing so. So, if you or maybe one of your children does not get enough physical activity, gaming could be a good way to persuade them to get up and get active after all.
8. It can lower your pain levels
Yes, really. If you suffer from chronic pain and you are looking for some relief. Then you might be interested to know that researchers have found that gaming is able to produce a pain-killing response in the body’s higher cortical systems, which means, if you play through the pain, you will start to notice that your pain is not so intense. This is probably because the act of gaming distracts us from the pain, but more research needs to be conducted to found out for sure.
9. It can help you make friends
Loneliness is a real problem for millions of people in this country, and it is fair to say that one thing that can help people to feel less lonely is playing multiplayer games online where they can chat to new people while they play. This can be particularly useful for people who cannot get out of the house for whatever reason.
10. It can cut your cravings
If you suffer from cravings that are not good for you, but which you simply cannot seem to resist, try gaming. Research has shown that the desire to indulge in a craving, whether it be smoking, drinking, or eating junk food, can be cut by almost one quarter when you are gaming. Again, it is probably because a really good game takes your mind off things to the point that those cravings do not seem so important anymore after all.
As you can see, not only is gaming great fun for the whole family, but it can bring many benefits to your real life too, so if anyone is ever down on your gaming hobby, be sure to remind them of all the ways it is able to enhance life for you!
