Even though it might come off as surprising, there is a significant interrelation between sports and gaming since both utilize hand-eye coordination and strategic thinking.
Research has shown that experienced gamers have marked visuomotor skills similar to that of athletes with stable experience in the field. This is because gaming fires up your visuomotor coordination by requiring you to make swift and precise movements in response to visual and auditory cues. Read along to learn how video games can make you a better athlete, in full detail.
5 Ways Video Games Improve Sportsmanship
Did you know that with regular practice in video gaming, you can develop new neural connections from operating complicated button inputs, leading to better motor skills? This translates to your ability to pitch a ball in the field, accurately serving in tennis and other activities in sports.
1. Better Focus and Attention
It is common knowledge that playing sports can be mentally taxing, especially since it demands a high level of focus and determination. Video games, with their capacity of keeping its players hooked and eliminating distractions, can serve as excellent practice for improving your attention span.
2. Enhanced Visual Capacity
Sports that involve passing or hitting the ball require you to zero in on the said ball while keeping an eye out for your surroundings. Video games, too, have designs that prosthetically create a broad field of vision that train your eyes to absorb any immediate visual cues without losing focus on your specific object. Such a mental expansion of space and exercising the use of peripheral vision is very advantageous for athletes!
3. Memory and Retention
Be it tennis, soccer or cricket, memorizing patterns, pitch sequences, or the tendencies of your opponent is crucial for getting an upper hand during a match. Studies demonstrate that video games can improve your memory and ability to retain large sets of data while simultaneously recalling information. This happens since lengthy video games require you to memorize its detailed lore, characters, rules, strategies, patterns, etc., thus, giving your brain a good exercise.
4. Multitasking
Famous athletes are known to be great multitaskers: remembering the opponent’s weaknesses, time, spatial information, and whatnot! This is essential to earn a high score in any tournament through precise delivery and gameplay.
Similarly, playing video games means that you have to engage your motor, vision, and attention to timely press buttons and increase your winnings. So, video games are a very fertile ground for juggling all of your sensory and muscular faculties to ensure optimal outcome during real-time sports events!
5. Decision-making Skills
Top athletic games and tournaments will require you to make tight and often risky decisions under extreme pressure. Video games allow you the space to practice decision-making by exposing you to low-risk situations to gradually improve this skill. With higher gaming difficulties, you may actually learn to make decisions that are as strenuous as that of real-life athletes. Regularly strategizing game plans and assessing options is definitely a good exercise.
Final Thoughts
Playing video games is scientifically proven to enhance the skills required to triumph in the sports arena, albeit on a beginner level. However, it is important to note that inner talent and health capacities also play a major role in determining sportsmanship. But video games can definitely put you on the path to athletic success!