9 Negative Impacts of Video Games on Health

Linda Shetty April 24, 2023 | 11:51

Video games can be a great recreational hobby. However, video game addiction can lead to several issues.

Contents
1. Muscle pain 2. Seizures 3. Obesity 4. Lack of vitamin D 5. Sleep deprivation 6. Attention problems 7. Aggressive behavior 8. Medication Overdose 9. Depression and Video Game Addiction

1. Muscle pain

Researchers from the Netherlands examined complaints about Nintendo in 2014. Nintendo neck, Nintendo wrist, and other similar aches and pains came to be known as "Nintenddinitis" or "Nintendo neck," "Nintendo wrist," etc. Nintendo actually modified their product in response to some of the feedback after taking it seriously.

The researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, came to the contrary conclusion, as reported by Health Central, that the majority of discomfort was simply the result of prolonged game play without a break.

2. Seizures

Photosensitive epilepsy is a type of epilepsy that affects up to 5% of epilepsy sufferers and causes seizures to be brought on by bright lights or striking patterns. Unless there are flashing or flickering images present, computer screens pose a relatively low risk for seizures, according to Epilepsy Action.

Standards made available by the World Wide Web Consortium are used by the gaming industry itself to ensure that content does not go against certain patterns. Be aware that these are only recommendations and not rules.

3. Obesity

Obesity is a result of an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Like television and smartphones, video games encourage a sedentary lifestyle, especially when played in conjunction with fatty or sugary snacks. Exergaming, on the other hand, is a more recent gaming genre that combines games with exercise.

The player must exert physical effort to participate in the game, and this effort will partially determine how the game turns out. Obesity, autism, and Alzheimer's disease prevention have all shown promising results.

4. Lack of vitamin D

Rickets is often associated with Victorian-era children and is thought to be a childhood illness. Rickets weakens bones and causes bowed legs and bent spines. It is brought on by a deficiency in vitamin D, which, although present in some food groups, is primarily obtained by exposing the skin to sunlight.

The chief medical officer of the UK issued a warning in 2015 that the average British toddler was only consuming 27% of the daily dietary recommendations due to time spent indoors. Possibly a reminder for young gamers to get out more?

5. Sleep deprivation

According to research by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, on 36 percent of the nights that they play video games, gamers put off going to bed. An average bedtime delay of 101 minutes resulted from the 4.6 nights per week that games were played on average. According to this study looking at the effects of gaming volume, adults' sleep quality is also negatively impacted.

6. Attention problems

You are now aware that it is unhealthy to spend too much time in front of a screen. Focus and impulse control issues are common in kids who struggle with attention. Why Can My Inattentive Child Pay Attention to Video Games? is an intriguing blog post.

Dr. Victoria Dunckley investigates and elucidates the sometimes illogical foundation of attention.

7. Aggressive behavior

As old as the video game industry itself is the argument over whether playing violent video games actively encourages or desensitizes aggressive behavior. The authors of a 2017 article in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, billed as the first to look into the long-term effects of violent video game play, found no correlation between playing a variety of violent games and subsequent aggression.

8. Medication Overdose

The National Safety Council claims that unintentional overdose causes more fatalities in Americans between the ages of 35 and 54 than automobile accidents. It's crucial to take the recommended dosage of any medication for addiction or any other problem.

It's critical to take action right away if you suspect an overdose. As advised by the psych, options for an immediate response include calling 911 or the National Poison Control Center.

9. Depression and Video Game Addiction

The relationship between depression and video game addiction was alarmingly correlated, according to two recent studies.

It's crucial to seek treatment at a center that can handle both problems if you have both ailments.

The likelihood of the addiction returning increases if you try to treat the video game addiction without also treating the underlying depression.

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