Board games like Monopoly, Chess, Checkers, Life, Clue, Scrabble, Mancala and etc. offer much more than entertainment. Such games have a beneficial impact on various aspects of health at any age.
Here are the top 10 health benefits of board games:
- Have fun and feel good: one of the side effects of board games is laughter. Laughter has been shown to increase endorphins, which are chemicals that trigger feelings of happiness. Sharing laughter and fun can promote empathy, compassion, and trust in others.
- Family time: Sitting with the family without interruptions can seem impossible at home, as everyone has different schedules, which pulls them in opposite directions, but playing with your kids or friends is a perfect way to spend time together while building learning skills. . Playing a board game after a family dinner is a great way to bond with your family while building bonds.
- Memory training and cognitive skills: Allowing your children to play a board game helps them practice essential cognitive skills like problem solving. The hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex especially benefit from board games. These areas of the brain are responsible for complex thinking and memory formation. Board games help the brain to retain and build cognitive associations well into old age.
- Reduces the risk of mental illness: One of the main benefits of playing board games is reducing the risks of cognitive decline such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Keeping your mind busy means you are exercising and strengthening it. A stronger brain has a lower risk of losing its power.
More benefits of board games
- Lowers blood pressure: In addition to laughing and boosting endorphins, they can help you lower or maintain your blood pressure. This endorphin release helps relax your muscles and allows blood to circulate, which lowers blood pressure. High blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of arterial damage, heart disease and stroke.
- Speed up your answers: Get yourself a board game like chess, checkers, or monopoly, and over time, you’ll be able to better locate those hard-to-find car keys without having to look for them at home. Scientists at the University of Toronto, in Canada, evaluated the ability of two groups to look for and find an object; their results showed that study participants who regularly played video games were much faster at locating the target than non-gamers.
- Reduce stress: You can always benefit from a healthy distraction like playing board games, as it’s a great way to unwind and relax. According to an online survey conducted by RealNetworks, Inc., a casual game developer found that 64% of respondents said they play games as a way to relax and unwind, and 53% do so to relieve stress.
And as if that weren’t enough…
- Strengthen your immune system: Research has shown that negativity, depression and stress can reduce your ability to fight off illness. Positive feelings and thoughts, like the laughter and fun that always accompany board games, prevent these effects by releasing chemicals that fight stress and boost the immune system. A simple board game can activate survival genes in your brain, making brain cells live longer and help fight disease.
- Child development: Board games play a very important role in children’s brain health and development. Board games help children develop logic and reasoning skills, improve critical thinking and enhance spatial reasoning. Encouraging children to play different types of board games can also increase verbal and communication skills, helping to develop attention skills and the ability to focus and concentrate for longer periods.
- Therapeutic Treatment: Many board games require the use of fine motor skills to pick up or move pieces, actions that require coordination and dexterity. Regular practice and activity improves these basic skills, which is important for children, people with mental or physical disabilities, the elderly, and people recovering from accidents. Board games are very useful when added to occupational therapy treatments and in settings such as special needs classrooms to help improve muscle and nerve function over time.