Good News: What Recent Studies Say About Gaming and Mental Health

It’s fair to say that the reputation of video gaming as a pastime has risen in recent years. Once derided, the activity is now celebrated for its merits.

It’s no longer an activity aimed at kids, as more and more adults now consider themselves gamers. It’s been on the rise among the elderly, too. But what about positive benefits for mental health? As ever with scientific research on social activities, there is no definitive answer as to whether gaming definitively bolsters mental health. Moreover, most researchers caution that gaming activity can only ever be beneficial in moderation. Yet, more and more studies point to the positive aspects of gaming.

Indeed, consider that the FDA recently approved its first-ever video game designed

to treat ADHD in children. So, whether you play AAA console games like God of War,

puzzles like Candy Crush, or social slots like Chili Heat Megaways, have a look at

these recent studies below and see how adjusting your gaming choices can help

with positive feelings of well-being and more:

The Open World Study: A 2024 study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild significantly improved relaxation and mental well-being among postgraduate students. The key term that came up in the study was “cognitive escapism,” which broadly means gaming allowed students to escape the stresses of studies and exams. Once the gaming activity ended, they were able to bring that lack of stress to focus better on their studies.

The Tetris Trauma Recovery: A 2024 study reinforced an older study (2009), showing that playing Tetris could reduce the formation of intrusive memories of past traumas. It makes logical sense, of course, as Tetris is about intense focus on those falling blocks, allowing you to forget about everything else in the moment. But the study showed that playing the

game was a useful means of cognitive intervention, with possible long-term benefits.

The Freedom of Kids’ Expression: An NYU study in partnership with UNICEF found that gaming could reinforce positive traits like creative thinking, autonomy, and identity in young children. There was a caveat in the study though, suggesting that this was limited to certain games, and that the games must be designed thoughtfully with children’s needs in mind. Games cited as positive in this respect in the study were Lego Builder’s Journey and Rocket

League.

The Console Owners’ Positivity: The pandemic era obviously affected many people, including young people. In Japan, a wide-ranging study of 97,000 people found that console owners were better equipped to deal with factors like isolation and loneliness that impacted people over the period and the aftermath of re-adjusting once the pandemic ended. The Nintendo

Switch was said to have the most positive impact, but owners of PlayStations also saw positive benefits.

The Most Influential Study in Modern Times: While the above studies were all conducted in the last year or two, one of the most influential studies on gaming and mental health comes from 2020 and Oxford University. The prestigious British university released a groundbreaking study on playing video games, finding that playing games positively reinforced feelings of well-being. Again, it looked at different types of games (rather than broad measures of time spent playing) and found that social competencies and connections in gaming really helped with players’ mental health. The study was seen as a real watershed

moment in connecting games and mental well-being.