Some people say that gaming is to be blamed for the decrease in productivity. What if it's the other way around?
Can gaming really improve your hand to eye coordination? It would seem so…
And that’s one way we can all give our brain a quick boost.
Because it means we receive information more quickly - which affects our ability to carry out a whole range of tasks well. That, in turn, helps us become more productive and successful - so it has an impact on the rest of our lives.
How do we know?
The theory has often been mooted but recent research seems to back this up too. One example is from a study conducted by Li Li, Rongrong Chen, and Jing Chen where they explored whether gaming benefits visuomotor control.
And it showed surprisingly positive results - interestingly across a whole range of tests and control groups.
So why is that - and what specific things did they look at?
Let me tell you...
What did they test?
The researchers looked at the reactions of young adults who play action games at least 5 hours per week - against those who don’t. It also added players of strategy games into the mix - to compare and contrast how their brains work.
The results proved time after time that players of online action - including car games - fared better. They also adapted more easily and quickly to any tests they were set. Which is interesting.
What happened?
Each group was first tested on a game which involved keeping a vehicle inside one straight lane. There was also a randomly varying crosswind blowing the car from side-to-side, to make it more difficult.
Overall, the action game players were much better at the main task than any of the other groups. They also reacted more quickly and accurately to the complicating effects of crosswinds.
A second study was carried out, using a moving dot on the screen - instead of driving - and the same results were replicated. .Participants had to try to keep the dot in the centre - using a joystick. And again the action game players did so much better.
As we mentioned earlier, a control group was set up - of strategy game players. But they did not seem to fare well, in the same way as the action players, at all. That suggests different parts of the brain are stimulated in those types of games. And that they, perhaps, don’t help particularly well with coordination.
Why does action gaming help?
The study suggests that it helps because, at their core, action games requires quick, accurate reactions. And this practice improves coordination in other tasks as well - over time. In fact, even five hours of game play seems to be enough to see a significant improvement in performance.
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Is it only game playing that’s helpful?
Of course not. There are lots of ways we can all improve our hand to eye coordination skills, obviously. But the research does suggest that, as adults, we should try to get involved in more coordinated activity.
Takeaway
Improving hand to eye coordination is really important for our performance - and helps our lives in lots of ways. So, next time you dismiss time spent online gaming as wasted, think again. Give it a go - and become more productive..