How Gaming can Increase your Focus

Video games in recent years have become exceedingly popular with children, as well as adults. It’s no longer the hermit-like pastime of those who would spend hours online after school. They’ve really become a mainstream activity with enough diversity and features for really anyone. Technology within the gaming industry is still improving with each passing year making great strides as developers focus to create fresh content and new games. With so many choices in genre and game type, you have plenty to appease your interests.

With quite the controversy around the benefit or harm of video games, it’s difficult to know if they can actually do you harm or good. If you’re looking for an answer to that, it’s really both. There are aspects that can benefit you such as your focus and concentration while overplaying can cause addiction.

That’s why scientists recommend keeping gameplay to an hour. Not that we all listen to that. Even I can spend hours playing my favorite games, trying to reach certain places and accomplish specific tasks. There are times (few) when I’ve played from the time I wake to the time I go to sleep. I mean, some games are so extensive in their worlds, it takes forever to get through! Something I love about playing.

Anyway, let’s get to the reason we are here. There are many benefits to playing video games that encourage you to keep playing. Gameplay and focus.

Can Playing Video Games Increase Focus?

The quick answer is yes. Yes, playing video games can increase your focus. Your focus is important when playing with others who rely on all the players to do their part. Specific strategic missions require your focus to complete in order to continue the player’s journey.

There are a few aspects that we’ll cover that go along with focus and the benefits of them. Focus along with these others is important to everyday life as well as your participation in the game!

Focus and Concentration

Concentration is needed for different aspects of your life whether that is taking an important test or keeping focused on what matters most at any given time: your family, kids, a project you’ve been working on.

Playing video games can improve concentration, particularly action and strategic analytical games which need attention and concentration from players to learn specific moves, the ins, and outs of the game, and to complete tasks as they move through the player journey. If you play multiplayer games, your comrades are trusting you to keep your focus and concentration to complete tasks and missions where you’re involved. Scientists have shown that an hour of playing video games can improve one’s concentration.

Memory

Closely related to attention and concentration, memory is required for many games. When playing specific games, you need to know the controls, where you get specific resources, what directions to travel, and how to complete tasks. The advances in technology, graphics, and audio have created an immersive and rich environment for the player to virtually navigate through.

Your mind as with anything else needs to be exercised to keep it working in good condition. Playing games can give your mind the exercises it needs to retain good memory throughout the years.

Several pieces of research show that playing virtual games can increase one’s memory and concentration. Other than improving focus, memory, and concentration; easy short video games may elevate mood while trickier games are said to be healing and therapeutic.

Problem-Solving

The American Psychological Association showed in a 2013 study that adolescents who played strategy video games had improved problem-solving abilities and better grades in school. Strategic and role-playing games can challenge players to solve more complex problems which serve as great practice for real-world obstacles.

Almost every genre of video game involves some sort of problem-solving, whether it’s figuring out a puzzle or finding the fastest escape route. These problems can involve memorization, analysis, and even creativity to solve. Obstacles in video games are often very open-ended without a lot of instruction, meaning players must experiment with trial and error. Solving and retrying the problem provides experience on how to be resilient and persistent when facing challenges in real life.

Final Thoughts

When focusing on anything, you’ll need these traits to achieve your goals whether that is completing the next mission in a game or an important project due by next week. If you’re looking to improve your focus or any of the traits listed, give gaming a try. You won’t regret it!