Written by Raven Smith
With midterm week just ending, everyone’s looking for a way to unwind. Whether on your phone, computer or gaming console, games are a great way to sit back and relieve some stress for a few hours.
The media seems to blame many incidents of gun violence on video games, citing “Call of Duty” and other war-based, gun-toting, first-person-shooter games as catalysts for violent and hurtful behavior. But in fact, studies have shown that many games have the opposite effect on people, often relaxing them and helping them keep calm.
One study by the University of Utah saw positive results in handling depression, autism and Parkinson’s disease through playing video games. Players were endowed with a sense of empowerment and felt more in control of their lives and relaxed after playing. Another study by CNET observed more than 150 different college students as they played video games for 20 minutes. Students who played relaxing video games described feeling more “love, joy and positive emotions”on feedback surveys for the study and even helped the researchers sharpen pencils for other students afterwards.
One such relaxing game is called “Flow,” and it is free for download on your PS3, Xbox and even through your Internet browser.
A developer named Jenova Chen made the game as part of his thesis. The idea of the game is to enter the relaxing “flow state,” where you are so engaged with the actions on your screen that you lose sight of the real world.
In this game you play as a small aquatic creature eating its way through the food chain. When you beat it, you may try again as an entirely different type of sea creature. The game is incredibly simple, similar to old-school worm, and beautifully made. It appeals to any type of gamer — you can take it slow and easy or take large risks to make it more exciting. The visuals, sounds and creatures you encounter are all abstract in a delightfully entertaining way. But more than anything, the game allows the player to step back from the real world for a few hours and unwind.
Exercise, sleep and a healthy diet are all helpful toward minting a healthy stress-free lifestyle, but why not try adding a few minutes of game time to your daily routine?
