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Tired? Stressed? What if the solution was in your controller? A recent study reveals that playing video games can improve your mood in just fifteen minutes.
Surprising results which underline the potential of video games as a rapid source of well-being, without side effects.
An express boost
Did you think video games were just a distraction? Think again! According to a study conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute, it would only take 15 minutes of play to notice an improvement in mood. Thanks to PowerWash Simulator (PWS), a game where you virtually clean surfaces, 72.1% of players reported feeling better after their session. Who knew playing cleanup could be so satisfying?
This improvement is similar to what you might experience while reading a good book, listening to music, or strolling through the stores. The results are clear: video games are not only fun, they are also a beneficial break for your mental well-being.
Strong evidence for small changes
This study is unique: it is based on real gaming sessions, far from sterile laboratories, and proves that the positive effect on mood is almost immediate. While playing naturally, participants saw their mood increase by 0.034 units on a scale of 0 to 1. Not enough to radically change the day, but enough to feel a little better, and sometimes, that’s all you need. request !
To collect this data, the researchers collaborated with FuturLab, the developers of PWS, to record gaming events and players’ emotional responses. Nick Ballou, postdoctoral researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, commented: “By studying gamers’ experiences while they naturally play a popular, commercial game, we found strong evidence of a small, positive change in mood over the course of a gaming session. Our study supports what the Qualitative research and reports from video game players around the world have long suggested: People feel good playing video games: People feel good playing video games“. A fun, but serious study!
A call for more research
Professor Andrew Przybylski, senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, stresses that while these results are encouraging, caution is needed. The PowerWash Simulator game may not be representative of the most popular games today. However, it opens the door to future research, including comparing video games to other leisure activities to measure their effectiveness on mood.
Could video games become your new wellness break? We’ll let you test it!