Why You Should Let Your Husband & Kids Play Video Games

Gaming is good for you and positively affects the brain. There is plenty of evidence that gaming is healthy for your husband and kids.

Believe it or not, gaming is good for you and positively affects the brain. There is evidence that gaming is healthy for your husband, kids, and even you. We’ll explore the research behind this idea.

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My husband, EagleGarrett as he’s known on Twitch and Youtube, plays and live streams video games for a living and I play occasionally for fun. Many don’t understand my husband’s line of work which has been a source of frustration for me. Thankfully, it seems we’re finally coming out of the stigma that “video games are bad for you”. The older generations still don’t quite get it but they’re coming around. There hasn’t been much study specifically related to actual time spent playing video games but rather from self-reported guesstimates until now.

In a 2020 study conducted by Oxford University, they found that time spent playing games is positively associated with well-being and relates positively to people’s mental health. The researchers worked with Electronic Arts and Nintendo to study the behavior of 3,274 players. It involved two popular video games — Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

America Professor Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute said: “If you play Animal Crossing for four hours a day, every single day, you’re likely to say you feel significantly happier than someone who doesn’t.” He also explained that regulating video gameplay could withhold positive mental health benefits.

A research team from China and Australia teamed up to study the brains of pro-level League of Legends or DOTA 2 players using a functional MRI during gameplay. They found that Action video gamers (AVG’s) have more gray matter and better connectivity in certain subregions of the brain. Grey matter is responsible for controlling movement, memory, and emotions and plays a significant role in all aspects of human life. AVG players’ brains showed enhanced cognitive control and emotional regulation.

According to American Psychological Association, “The more adolescents reported playing strategic video games, such as role-playing games, the more they improved in problem-solving and school grades the following year, according to a long-term study published in 2013. Children’s creativity was also enhanced by playing any kind of video game, including violent games, but not when the children used other forms of technology, such as a computer or cell phone, other research revealed.”

What about children with ADHD, are video games bad for them? The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of a so-called ‘serious video game’ for treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, providing some evidence that there are mental health benefits of some kinds of playtime.

As with anything, moderation of video gameplay is best. Excessive gameplay can have negative side effects but as we have explored from the research above, the benefits cannot be ignored. Video gameplay is not only good for your brain but also for emotional regulation and overall well-being.

Personally, I certainly feel my well-being is greater and enjoy gameplay compared to times I do not. I’ll continue to support my husband playing video games and won’t have a problem with our kids playing them either. Of course, you have to decide and do what is best for your family with the information at hand.