The Positive Effects That Playing Games Can Have

*This is a collaborative post on playing games but all thoughts and opinions are my own

I am a huge fan of playing games online and on my phone, especially over the past year. Sometimes it’s just for a five-minute escape, other times it’s as a distraction and half an hour disappear. There are so many games out there you can only online but my favourite ones are puzzle and logic style games like the ones on Plays.

The latest game I’ve been playing is the Make 7 Logic Puzzle Game. All you have to do is combine three of the same number in a row and it merges and turns into the next number. So you merge three number ones and it turns into a two. As the name suggests once you hit seven the number disappears. And the aim of the game is to clear the board. The game takes enough brainpower for me. to stay interested but not so much that it feels like hard work.

There are so many positive effects that playing games can have (when played in moderation). Here are just some of them:

Playing games keeps your brain active

The reason that I like puzzle, trivia or logic games is that it keeps my brain active. I’m not one for sitting around doing nothing as I get bored and I like to keep my brain engaged. Any game which gets you thinking about strategy or your next move can keep your mind supple. Just like maintaining a healthy exercise routine will help your body, our brain needs to be kept ‘in shape’. A study conducted at the University of Iowa looked at 681 healthy people aged over 50 and got them to play 10 hours of a certain video game for 5-8 weeks. And they found that this was enough to slow the decline in brain age by several years.

It’s been found that playing video games can enhance hand-eye coordination, your working memory, rapid decision-making abilities and lengthen people’s attention span.

With over 100 games on Plays, you can find whatever game suits your method of gameplay. You can check out the newest games here.

You can switch off

We all need a bit of time to switch off and not have to think about the stresses of life, our jobs, finances etc, and playing a game online can really help to do that. Sometimes I get so engrossed in a game that I forget what else is going on and that’s such a positive effect.

Research has found that playing games can have a big positive impact on our mental well-being which is very important. Play is important for human life whatever your age and at its basic level games are playful spaces. They have also been associated with reduced depression and anxiety as it gives you space to not get inside your head and think about things.

Playing games is a moment of self-care

And finally playing games can be a great moment of self-care. Between working, keeping your house in order and all the other thing that comes with life we have to do some things for ourselves. And for many people playing games is a fun way to spend time and is something that is genuinely enjoyed. After a long day, we all want to switch off. And for some people, the idea of escaping into a game is what they want to do. For others, it might be watching a movie or reading a book. But we all have to do whatever self-care works for us and if playing games is what you love, then do it!

Are you a fan of playing games? What kind of games are your favourite?

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