Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Video Games: The New Prozac

Classic time-wasters seem to ease the symptoms of depression in studies

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2009 10:26 AM CDT

(Newser) – If depression's got you down, it might be time to turn to your Wii over your wee blue pills, reports the Washington Post in a look at how video games might ease the disease. For one depression sufferer, Bejeweled was "a big help in getting through to the next morning." And when she wrote parent company PopCap, it commissioned a study that concluded that players experienced better moods and heart rhythms. Now, it’s launching another study, testing it against clinical markers of depression.

Nor is PopCap alone. Many game developers are trying to crack the mental health market, the Washington Post reports, on the theory that many mental health disorders like depression involve systematic thought patterns that can be disrupted by focusing on a video game. The games are especially valuable for Type A personalities, who often require a low level of stressful arousal to relax.

A screenshot from Bejeweled.
A screenshot from "Bejeweled."   (©AchimH)
A Nintendo WiiMote is seen in this file photo.
A Nintendo WiiMote is seen in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Nintendo Co.)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Realist
Aug 18, 2009 3:54 AM CDT
It's refreshing to see a report like this instead of the (now standard) "video games made my kid go on a rampage and kill people" ones...

More Newser Stories

Air Pollution Tied to Brain Damage

Depression May Be Good for Us

Key Depression Gene Identified

'Mama's Boys' Have Better Mental Health

Mental, Not Physical, Illness Hospitalizes Most US Troops


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne