Is Gaming Good For Your Mental Health: 3 Games To Improve Your Mental Health

Video games can play a beneficial role in improving your mental health. For decades, there have been a lot of research on the negative effects of gaming. Though we can't ignore this, the truth is video games  are great for stimulating the brain. They also help to improve problem-solving, memory, and concentration when played in moderation.

Benefits of Video Games

Playing video games has so many benefits, from exercising your brain to improving social skills. Some of them include:

Improves mental health disorders

Video games can help people dealing with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactive disorder(ADHD). Participating in these intellectually stimulating exercises redirects attention and energy to problem-solving. This leads to an improved mood. 

Encourages mental stimulation

Have you noticed that when you are playing a game, you are mentally alert trying to make the right decisions quickly to win the game? Playing video games is good for training your brain and exercising your mind. In fact, according to data from a study, people who do puzzles have brain function equivalent to 10 years younger than their age. 

Builds emotional resilience

When you are playing a video game, you want to win! So you keep at it even if you fail or struggle initially. This is great for learning persistence and resilience especially for children. 

Improves social skills

Multiplayer games encourage collaboration. Multiplayer games have virtual social communities, where decisions are made quickly on who to lead a group and who to trust. 

Things To Note

It is important to set limits on how much time you will spend playing these games. Spending too much time on these games every day can lead to addiction. It can also lead to isolation and using the games to escape from your real life. Gaming is good for relaxation and easing stress but can cause problems if it's excessive.

 3 Online Games To Improve Your Mental Health

These are some online games anyone can play to improve their brain's performance and boost their mood.

Sudoku

This is a fun brain game that people of all ages and abilities can play. It is a logic game that challenges you to place the right numbers in boxes within a grid. Playing sudoku provides exercise and stimulation for the brain which can improve brain function according to a research study published in the International Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry. It is also relaxing and gives a sense of satisfaction and achievement when you complete the puzzles.

Crossword Puzzles

Solving crossword puzzles boost your vocabulary, spelling, and knowledge of trivia. These benefits in turn increase your ability to think abstractly and your brain's processing power.  

Research studies have shown that participating in activities like crossword puzzles can delay the onset of memory loss and alleviate dementia especially for those who are already at risk for Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Role-Playing Games

A role-playing game is a game where the player assumes the role of a character throughout play. How you play your character depends on the person who created the game world and how you respond to the various events in it.

 These games have been used by educators to help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. RPGs can also be used in a therapeutic sense for practicing desired skills like speaking up in a safe space and collaborating with others.

Recommended Online Game Websites

You don't have to download paid apps in order to get the benefits of video games. These websites are full of simple games you can play in your browser. And guess what? They are free!

1. Plays.org

This website offers hundreds of free and fun online games you can play directly from your browser. It's really easy to use. You don't have to download an app or register an account to use the website. Another great thing about this website is that there are no distractions from advertising and no paid upgrades either. 

When playing the games, you don't have to worry about losing access to the internet because they are stored on the web browser. They have a wide variety of games for adults and children.  Some games to try are the ultimate Sudoku timed puzzle game, which is a free online version of the classic Sudoku puzzle number game, and the Super Tetris logic puzzle game. 

2. BestCrosswords.com

If you love crosswords, you will love this one. This website hosts a large supply of free crossword puzzles. They publish 15 grids daily. You don't need registration and you can play in your web browser, smartphone, tablet or print in high resolution.

3. Arkadium 

This website has a large collection of online games you can play for free in your browser. You have to register to use this one and the advertisements can be distracting. Try Arkadium's Codeword, a word game that is a free online version of Codeword.