Video games, in general, have come a long way since the simple arcade titles of the 1970s, which set solid evidence on the benefits of play that go well beyond entertainment and eye-hand coordination. Here are 9 health benefits of playing car games and how it programs better individuals.
Let’s get into the race for a healthier lifestyle!
1. Unites Mind and Body
Have you noticed hitting yourself to an object in your surroundings or bumping your head somewhere narrower than of the usual place you live in, all subconsciously? Or, remember your siblings calling you too clumsy to handle a few plates on hands? If yes, then playing mandalin stunt car games is the right medicine for you. Well, of course, we are not talking about the drug kind of medicine here, rather a practical approach that helps you balance your eye-hand coordination, as you learn to unite your mind and body throughout the time.
It is simple! Put your hands on the wheel and focus on the screen so you won’t jump off the road or crash through your competitors next to you. What is more, pressing breaks when you are close to a barrier or gas when you are about to reach the finish line – all requires profound attention for you to see a few steps ahead and your body to control every move you make throughout the race.
2. Improves Brain Functions
A study from the University of California, San Francisco shows car games could improve neural plasticity in older adults, improving their “ability to multitask and to filter out distractions.” The study included three different experiments with a car racing game, called Neuroracer, played on a laptop with a video game controller attached.
One of which experiments were done with a group of 46 adults, aged 60 to 85, split into three groups. One group trained on the multitasking game regularly for a month, one trained on a single-task version, and one did not train at all. The multitasking group had a significantly improved performance on the game, finding they also “improved in other cognitive areas beyond what they practiced.”
3. Improves Vision
Wait! It is not the one about your future goals and ambitions. It is the one your doctor introduced as 20/20 vision, which is considered to be for a normal eye with clear sight. Meaning, you can read at 20 feet a letter that most human beings should be able to read at such a distance.
Whether you are nearsighted, suffering from myopia, or farsighted with the ability to read clearly in a longer distance, this game helps you with both problems. Because, the moment you buckled up to begin the race, you actually started training both your near and far visions, which as result balances sight. You need to be aware of the distance between you driving a car and those foes rushing next to you, after all.
In one study, 10 weeks of play was associated with a greater ability to discern between different shades of grey. Another had participants try to play only using their “lazy” eye (also known as amblyopia), with the “good” one obscured. Those patients showed significant improvement in the affected eye.
4. Helps Patients with Autism
Car gaming folks like us, using systems that incorporate the entire body to control onscreen movement, have been shown to be more engaged in celebrating victories with peers, which paves a way to those with autism opportunities to communicate and collaborate with one another.
Hence, sharing space with multiple players can lead to increased social interaction for those with such a disorder.
5. Helps Ease Pain
We have all tried to distract ourselves from pain – such as headache – by paying attention to something else or focusing on other body mechanisms; but that is not the only reason why car gaming is a good post-injury prescription.
As you move toward your big screen with a motive to win the last session’s race that you left undone, the body produces an analgesic response in our higher cortical systems, making you forget the pain soon after you start playing. The higher the speed, the better the result!
6. Helps Build Social Connection
If you can race with friends and even people beyond your neighborhood, then why just gas you favorite four-wheel at home alone or the rivals controlled automatically by the system?
The rise of multi-player experiences online has given way to a new approach of socializing in which players work in unison to solve problems, better yet, compete to win and gain more confidence.
Such a game can also be the catalyst for friends to gather in person, where studies have shown roughly 70 percent of all players play with friends at least some of the time.
7. Reduces Stress
While some games are thought to induce stress – especially in fast-paced games when you see your character struck down for the umpteenth time – the opposite can be true with racing. It is rather a peaceful one, where you joyously drive as the spectators cheer you around.
Beyond what normally certain studies come up with, a common sense to understand the benefits of playing games – such as car racing – basically tells you the game is a good stress reliever if you enjoy playing it. Makes sense!
8. Curbs Cravings and Vices
Individuals preoccupied with indulging in overeating, smoking, drinking, or even gambling might be best served by reaching for one of these driving games instead. This helps reduce the desire for their vice of choice after bringing a virtual vehicle into their living room and enjoy the race as if in real-life competition.
9. Improves Decision-making Skills
We all envy those friends having an updated and faster processing software on their laptop than the rest of us, enabling them to retrieve information or react in a split of a second. For some, that ability might be strengthened through car racing games. Because new information is constantly being displayed during the play, forcing players to adapt quickly.
Studies show players who were immersed in fast-paced and racing games, were 25 percent faster in reacting to questions about an image they had just seen compared to non-players.
Reminder:
Let’s not forget that everything in life is ideally supposed to be of certain limits, even racing with hands on the wheel. Overdoing and spending tons of time playing racing games might withdraw your attention from other aspects in life – the race is not all we got in life after all.
