Video Games Can Help You Eat Better and Quit Smoking, The Health Benefits of Video Games

Video Games Can Help You Eat Better and Quit Smoking

If you hear the term “gamer” and think of a pimply-faced teenager locked in his bedroom, glued to a screen, you’re in for a shock. “The average age of a game player is 43, and up to 48 percent of those who play are women,” says Dr. Jane McGonigal, PhD, gamer and game creator. The teen archetype holds true, she says, but there’s more to video games than many non-gamers think, including tremendous health benefits.

Dr.came up with the concept of “living gamefully” in 2009, when she was having difficulty recovering from a brain injury. The idea is that when times are tough, doing what you do in a game – finding allies, powering up, beating the bad guys – can be a powerful coping mechanism that initiates growth and healing. The strategy, called SuperBetter, became a New York Times bestselling book and app and has helped nearly half a million people achieve personal growth and face challenges like depression and chronic pain by increasing their mental resilience.

Even some of the most popular video games can be good for your health. Here’s how.
Whether you’re trying to quit smoking or nix a sugar habit, playing a pattern-matching game when you get a hankering can stop temptation in its tracks. Playing Candy Crush Saga or Bejeweled for a few minutes will preoccupy the visual imagination part of your brain, so you literally can’t picture that thing you’re craving, says McGonigal. “It reduces cravings by 25 percent, which studies have shown to be just enough of a willpower boost to make smarter eating choices or not pick up that cigarette.