“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
- George Bernard Shaw
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re ‘too old’ to participate in an activity you’ve always enjoyed. While, in some cases, (like if the activity is rugby league) you might be right; when it comes to arcade games, there really is no barrier to enjoyment at any age. As adults, we can still get enormous pleasure from playing games, plus arcade games offer scientifically proven health benefits too! Let’s take a look.
The Importance of Play
While children instinctively want to engage in play, adults often either find it hard to find the time or, don’t fully appreciate the value of playing games. However, playing is a really important part of being human.
Playing arcade games offers adults of all ages the following benefits:
- An escape from reality
- A way to reconnect with your inner child
- A chance to strengthen social bonds as you connect (and compete) with other people. The act of playing together helps foster empathy, compassion, intimacy and trust
- A mood boost - Because many games require intense concentration, they give your mind a chance to forget about whatever it is you might be stewing over
So playing arcade games can be one way to keep playfulness in your life. But that’s not all arcade games offer you…
The Health Benefits of Arcade Games
Fitness
Arcade games, like air hockey, plus different types of exergames (think Dance Dance Revolution and boxing and kicking games) can boost your fitness if played regularly plus, you have fun while you do it!
Studies like this one, have looked at the energy expenditure required to play popular exergames and found participants expend significant energy to play these games well. What does this mean? If you don’t enjoy the exercise regime you’ve assigned yourself, you’ll struggle to stick with it; exergames offer a way to get exercise that you’ll actually do!
Brain function
While games like wack-a-croc, air hockey and basketball remain ever-popular and entertaining options in arcade parlours, undoubtedly many of the most popular arcade games are video games. So let’s take a quick look at the positive link between playing video games and your brain. Video games often get a bad rap, but did you know frequent gaming has been linked to improvements in brain function?
According to a review of 116 scientific studies concerning how video games affect the structure and activity of our brains:
- Gamers have better sustained attention and selective attention compared to non-gamers, according to some studies
- The brain regions involved in attention operate more efficiently in gamers and require less activation to sustain attention on demanding tasks
- Video games potentially increase the size and efficiency of brain regions related to visuospatial skills
Fine Motor Skills
Studies have also found playing video games helps to boost your motor control skills, this enhanced ability translates into being a better driver in the real world!
It’s time to embrace your inner child, contact Top Gun Amusements today.