by Danny Gallagher

 The International Sports Sciences Association found people who play motion games in their homes not only hook young children on physical activity at an early age but also could encourage adults to move to more beneficial physical activities, noting, “Simply moving can increase one’s metabolism.

You’re at home one night vegging out on the couch with a video game controller in your hands and your thumbs furiously pounding at an endless wave of mutant warthog alien space zombie Masons. Your girlfriend or wife walks in and catches you “wasting time” with “one of those machines” and wishes you would do something more productive, something other than improve your achievement ranking. You don’t say anything. You just nod quietly and go back to your very loud game of “Gears Of War” and internally deal with the emotional blow to your bruised ego.

While it’s true prolonged gaming without physical exertion or exposure to violent video games at a very young age can affect a person’s physical and mental well-being to varying degrees, there are other arguments to be made in favor of being a regular, active gamer. And unlike some arguments against gaming, the science exists to back it up. So the next time she gets on your case, throw one of these in her face or at the back of her head as she’s leaving you.

1. Improves perception and reaction skills

The best gamers don’t just memorize levels or remember the locations of power-ups and enemies. They also work to improve their timing with every wave of bullets they spray at their enemies. Reaction is key to being a successful gamer, unless you want to get loads of exercise by jumping and screaming at your controller, although that’s bad for your heart. A study from the University of Rochester found that video gaming provides “an efficient training regimen to induce a general speeding of perceptual reaction times without decreases in accuracy of performance” by requiring players to develop a “rapid processing of sensory information and prompt action” at crucial points during the game.

2. Treats depression

Nothing can brighten a gloomy day better than the warm glow of a television screen covered in blood and flying bullets. Of course, it’s not just the glow from the TV that makes you feel all warm and gooey inside; it’s science. The Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine published a preliminary study that found playing certain games can help a person escape from their depression at times when they have no control over the factors that are causing it. The games “seem to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the heightened tension that is a natural response to stress.” Translation: It makes your brain feel less hurty.

3. Improves physical fitness

Full motion control devices like Nintendo Wii, Playstation Move and XBox Kinect haven’t just opened a whole new avenue for eating Cheetos. It may lead a new revolution for physical fitness and agility. The International Sports Sciences Association found people who play motion games in their homes not only hook young children on physical activity at an early age but also could encourage adults to move to more beneficial physical activities, noting, “Simply moving can increase one’s metabolism.”

4. Allows you to control your dreams

This sounds like something out of a Philip K. Dick novel. However, science has found people who play video games are actually practicing for when they drift off into dream land. Since games give people the ability to control their environment, they can control and reduce particularly harmful nightmares and even give themselves a sense of mental health and stability.

5. Improves visual attention

The University of Rochester found that playing games not only makes people more aware of their surroundings, but can also improve a person’s ability to maintain their focus when it is most needed. These findings suggest that video games or some other more clinical variation may be able to help those who are visually impaired to rehabilitate their sight or even help train soldiers for military service.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.