1-Up Your Fitness with Gaming
Huami (Amazfit's parent company) is proud to partner with the McLaren Shadow Project e-sports tournament, as a provide of health monitoring technology through its Amazfit Stratos smartwatch.
In honor of this event, we wanted to talk a little about the misconceptions of gaming, and the many health benefits - both physical and mental - that come from playing video games.
The world of gaming has infiltrated nearly every home in the United States, and despite conventional wisdom suggesting otherwise, playing video games has been shown to have significant fitness & health benefits. We break down exactly how, below.
Cognition: Simply speaking, cognition is our ability to think - analyze, problem-solve, make decisions, etc. Despite the popular misconception that gaming stifles thinking, playing video games has actually been shown to help improve memory and attention thanks to the various complex problem-solving scenarios gamers often encounter. In fact, some games may even increase intelligence and even subject-matter knowledge by having you work through specialized problems.
Fitness & Weight Loss: While many games simply utilize a controller, there's been a growing trend in recent years to introduce alternative interaction models that engage more than just a person's thumbs. Take, for instance, Nintendo's hugely popular Wii, or the Xbox Kinect; both of these systems gave players the opportunity to put their whole bodies into game play.
With the arrival of VR and AR games (think 'Pokemon Go'), there are even more opportunities for gaming to help increase people's fitness levels and, just as important, offer sedentary people a great first step - leading, eventually, to weight loss, increased strength, endurance, balance, agility, etc.
Translation to Real Movement: Playing sports-themed games can encourage kids, and adults, to give sports a try in real life. Being able to see how a sport is played, and understand the basic physical mechanics, can lower barriers and inspire people to join a club or league, or just connect with friends at the local park.
Gone are the days when gamers were seen as lazy and unmotivated. Today's gamers are translating their digital passion into real-world endeavors, and taking their gaming to new levels with e-sports.
In the process, they're developing endurance and mental fitness, improving their posture, building a strong core, and developing forearm and wrist strength.
Still, the same basic principles that contribute to success with more conventional physical routines are just as important for gamers - getting enough sleep, balanced diet and and nutrition, mental clarity, and emotional support are all must-haves for serious gamers.
So go ahead and fire up your Xbox, Playstation, or new VR-enabled gaming system. We won't judge!