The Health Benefits of Video Games By NicoleIreland  [15 more lists]

With the invention of game systems and games that force users to get up and move in order to play them, gamers can now increase their chances of weight loss success while remaining entertained and engaged. Games like those offered by EA Active offer a wide range of activities to keep users moving, including tennis, basketball, volleyball, baseball, boxing and more. Football fans can even workout like the pros. And for those who enjoy dancing, there's games like Dance Dance Revolution. All of these combined with a well-balanced diet will definitely help those looking to lose weight.

Once you begin to see changes in your body, you'll begin to feel better about yourself and will notice an increase in your self-esteem. You can also increase your self-esteem and self-acceptance with games specificallty geared towards that goal, like Grow Your Chi!, Eye Spy: The Matrix and Wham! Self-Esteem Conditioning.

Another huge benefit of video game play is stress relief. A study conducted by PopCap Games found that 88% of people play video games to help alleviate stress. So which games are best to combat stress? Ones like Solitaire and Freecell help put a person's brain into a more relaxed, stressfree state. Physical activity games like Dance Dance Revolution are also great choices for stress relief.

For surgeons, video game play allows them to opportunity to improve their dexterity which means less mistakes in the operating room. A study conducted with laparascopic surgeons found that those who played video games to improve dexterity were 27 percent faster and made 37 percent less errors than those who don't partake in a little video game action.

If you suffer from a lazy eye or have trouble driving at night, video game play may actually help you improve your eyesight. An article published in Nature Neuroscience stated that video games have been known to improve contrast sensitivity. So the next time someone tells you that playing video games will harm your eyes, rest assured, that that's not the case.