Wellness Wednesdays: Gaming

Each Wellness Wednesday, we focus on a way to reduce stress and improve mental health for KNB's healthcare communications professionals. We love to share our ideas (and the science behind them) with our fellow health tech marketers.

This week, our topic is gaming. We encourage our healthcare marketing community to find a casual game that interests them and take some breaks every now and then to play it.

If you are someone who plays casual games on your phone or video games on a console, you probably already know on some level that gaming helps you check out mentally. But did you realize how? A study found that the active participation demanded by playing a game “reduces the ability for players to ruminate on unwanted thoughts and stressful events.” This psychological detachment results in a reduction of stress. 

In another study, researchers found that playing casual video games during a break can help restore mood in response to workplace stress -- even more so than just taking a silent break. 

Yet another study also showed that action-based video games not only reduce stress but can sharpen cognitive abilities such as reaction speed. This can help gamers think more quickly on their feet and likely be more proficient in problem-solving, which can reduce stress in other ways as well. 

What games would you recommend for healthcare communications pros?