Last but not least: The healing effect of videogames
War video games do not enjoy the best reputation - they desensitize players to violence and are said to be addictive. A study has now overturned these prejudices.
Good news for the brutal games scene: scientists at Grant MacEwan University have found that regularly playing games about war and combat can reduce the level of suffering and aggression in dreams about war. Or to put it more simply: video games can help soldiers sleep better.
For the study, the soldiers were divided into two groups - "frequent players" and "infrequent players" - and asked about their dreams. The results were clear: the participants assigned to the first group stated that their nightmares about combat were less intense and that they often had the feeling that they could fight against the threats. In the second group, there was more often a feeling of helplessness against an aggressive and violent enemy.
Brutal video games could serve as a kind of threat simulator, according to an explanation by scientist Jayne Gackenbach. This conditions the mind to cope better with intense, dangerous situations in nightmares. According to New Scientist, she can even imagine that the soldiers' frequent video gaming is a kind of self-medication and is more than just a gaming addiction.
Makes sense. Somehow.
(Source: Press release)
