Gaming Can Improve Eye Sight

Gaming can improve eye sight! Does that come as a surprise? Well, I suppose any statement like this would come as a shocker for parents and would be welcomed by many kids and avid gamers.

There has always been an argument about gaming having a bad influence on kids. But, on the other side many have also contemplated that gaming might actually help your eye sight.

Gaming Can Improve Eye Sight: Many of us have a problem seeing the traffic lights and the cars coming in the opposite direction, especially during night. These symptoms show us that our eyes possess a poor contrast sensitivity.

• Poor contrast sensitivity was thought to be in-correctable. The only possible alternatives for people who had this weakness was to wear eye glasses or contacts and in some cases a surgery.
• But, researchers are claiming to have found an unusual way of improving contrast sensitivity.
• They say gaming may possibly help them achieve it.
• Thousands of people are affected worldwide due to poor contrast sensitivity. This includes even elders and people suffering from amblyopia(known as Lazy Eye).
• Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York are suggesting a specific gaming regimen that would improve contrast sensitivity.

Researchers have been studying various types of video games for the past few years. They were able to observe different aspects of the brain function and visual processing associated with these games.

• This research enabled them to suggest that die hard gamers are very good at spotting targets even in the midst of chaotic visuals.
• This indicates that action packed video games sharpen vision significantly, improve visual acuity, help the brain process visually complex scenarios, keep track of several events at once and assess rapidly changing information.
• The interesting conclusion the researchers came to was that people who played games loaded with action(first person shooting) have a better contrast sensitivity when compared to other gamers who play arcades and puzzles.
• Contrast sensitivity was best improved by games that were unpredictable and which demanded the player to fire at multiple targets.

Very recently the above theory came into light practically at Essex in England. Ben Michaels was diagnosed with lazy eye syndrome at the age of four. This led to a decrease in his eye sight. But, the boy was suggested to play Nintendo DS by his doctor and upon doing this for two hours a day his eye sight improved by 250 percent only within the first week.