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New research backs up what gamers have thought for years: cozy video games can be an antidote to stress and anxiety.

Other studies also point to a shift in perceptions of gaming. “As more research has emerged related to video games, we're beginning to recognize that they can actually offer a lot of benefits,” said Michael Wong, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at McMaster University and former professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Wong surveyed 80 undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to uncover whether mindfulness meditation or “casual” gaming was better at reducing stress. The study published in 2021 measured the effectiveness of playing a casual game like Flower, developed by Thatgamecompany, against a 20-minute mindfulness meditation session in reducing stress. “To our surprise, there really wasn't a difference between the two forms of interventions. For blood pressure and heart rate, there was no statistically significant difference between playing a video game and engaging in meditation,” Wong said.

Game on: Game-based program boosts physical activity among diabetes patients -- ScienceDaily

When each group's performance was analyzed, the researchers saw that the step counts for those who participated in the competitive and support arms of gamification significantly increased their step counts over the year they participated. The support group increased their steps by an average of 503 steps more than the non-gamified control group; the competition participants increased by an average of 606 steps. The collaboration participants increased their steps by 280 compared to the control group, but that was not enough to be considered a significant finding.