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Games Take Away the Pain

Posted by Zonk on from the soothing-mario-music-also-helps-sleep-dep dept.

Gamasutra reports on a Wheeling Jesuit University study that indicates gameplaying can allow those with great pain to live more fulfilling lives. From the article: "The Wheeling study compared several different genres of games in their effects on pain. Six types of games were used: action, puzzle, arcade, fighting, sports, and boxing, all varieties that encourage high attention and stimulus. (Games such as RPGs and graphical adventures were likely left out of the survey for their low-impact nature.) The game types most effective in distracting from pain, meted out by cold pressor tests after 10 minutes of each subject playing a particular game type, were the sports and fighting games."

2 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Makes Sense... by dcowart · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It sounds like adrenalin. The adrenalin rush from playing fighting and sports games serves to deaden pain. This is just what it's supposed to do as part of the built-in "Fight or Flight" response. It keeps us going when were dead tired, but still needing to run from lions.

    --
    www.rdex.net
  2. Adrenaline ? by IAAP · · Score: 3, Interesting
    FTFA: The game types most effective in distracting from pain, meted out by cold pressor tests after 10 minutes of each subject playing a particular game type, were the sports and fighting games.

    I wonder if these games produce an adrenaline response? It's like remembering a situation that really pissed you off and you start getting pissed off again - with the resulting adrenaline.

    A lot of athletes will use imaging techniques to perfect their game. Only in this instance, you're placing yourself in the role of the game character. So when he gets hit, so do you - in your head.