Playing video games three hours daily boosts mind health – study

A 2024 Japanese study discovered that playing video games can improve your mental well-being, as long as you only play three hours a day.

Nihon University researchers added that owning a gaming console can improve life satisfaction and reduce psychological stress. 

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“I guess if you enjoy your hobby, you’re going to find a good impact on your well-being,” said lead researcher Hiroyuki Egami.

How does playing video games improve mental health?

Dr. Mike Cook, a senior computer science lecturer at King’s College London who was not part of the Japanese study, explained the importance of playing video games.

“Research that helps people understand the benefits of play is good for everyone, particularly when it comes to video games which suffer from an image problem globally,” Cook said. 

In 2019, the World Health Organization added “gaming disorder” to its International Classification of Diseases. However, the scientific news platform New Scientist says research into the effects of playing video games has yielded mixed results.

Professor of Psychology and Science Communication at Bath Spa University Peter Etchells says these studies occur in lab-controlled settings. 

As a result, their results are “far removed from what it’s actually like to play video games,” explained Etchells who did not participate in the Japanese study. 

Egami and his colleagues started their research between 2020 and 2022. COVID-19 lockdowns reduced gaming console supplies at the time, so Japan introduced lotteries where people could win a PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch.

The researchers surveyed 8,192 people aged between 10 and 69 who participated in the lotteries. They answered questions related to their gaming habits and levels of psychological distress.

Egami and the team found that lottery winners had better mental well-being scores than unsuccessful lottery players. 

Most experienced improved mental health from playing three hours daily. Moreover, younger people with Nintendo Switches had more benefits compared to older counterparts.

Gamers with no children benefited more from their PS5s than parents. However, Egami and the team admit conducting the study during the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the results. 

Nevertheless, “if we care about understanding how video games impact us, we need to be nuanced and specific about what it is that we’re measuring and how,” says Etchells.