Five Games That Could Improve Your Health

Remember back in the old days when we would spend endless hours in front of our gaming consoles and our parents would tell us that we should “go outside” or “those infernal things are going to make us blind?” Okay, some of you younger readers out there might not have had the misfortune of going through all of that drama, but boy were they wrong when they told us that!

Studies have shown that video games not only do not affect the eyesight or the psychological development of children but can actually be beneficial to a person’s health in some cases. So, I inspected this question and found five great examples of such titles that you can play so that you can have a great time while actually doing something good about yourself.

5. Tetris

Feeling hungry even though you just ate about an hour ago? Do you have cravings caused by boredom? Well, all you need to do is just play a bit of Tetris and you’ll be feeling better in no time! According to The Esquiline, experiments have shown that playing the famous puzzle game for as little as three minutes can distract the mind long enough to curb cravings for food, alcohol, or tobacco.

4. Just Dance

This is a fun game to play with friends, but it can also be a fun daily activity to do on your own. Put on some music, find your favorite exercise routine, and get moving! These games are great at giving incentives to people to stay active and keep off that unwanted body fat. Also, they’ve been a great help for many senior centers to keep the elderly up and running.

3. Grand Theft Auto V

Okay, yes. Shooting, looting, prostitution, etc. is not great, but hear me out as to why GTAV made the list. Scientists have pointed out that action and third-person shooter games such as GTA V, can improve different cognitive functions. What this means in simpler terms is that they help us better process our surroundings and understand what’s going on in our environment due to their action-paced tempo. So feel free to shoot up some fools every now and again without feeling that guilty.

2. Final Fantasy XIV

Playing an online role-playing game, such as Final Fantasy XIV for example, could prove doubly beneficial for your health. On the one side, as shown in research, role-playing games help players increase their decision-making skills. On the other hand, we’re talking about an MMO title here, so there’s the opportunity to socialize and interact, or even discuss strategy with other people while playing. Both those traits make online role-playing games such a great way to pass your time.

1. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

If you’re looking for a massive challenge, with great puzzles and an epic adventure that also touches on the matter of schizophrenia and psychosis, then search no further.

The developers at Ninja Theory did a magnificent job of showing the world through the eyes of a person who suffers from this mental illness, going into it without expressing any views or positions on the topic. It’s just there for all of us to see and try to understand as best we can — to build empathy. It might be a stretch for this article, but I included this recommendation because I hope that empathy can help to put people in a stronger position to assist — or simply better understand — those around us who suffer from these illnesses.