Games May Improve Vision

[Jimmy 2004]

According to research by the University of Rochester, video games with a lot of action may actually help to improve performance. During the project, researchers found that those who played video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved their ability to identify letters in a cluster by 20%, a test similar to ones used in standard ophthalmology clinics. Those playing Tetris saw no improvement in vision, but those playing Unreal Tournament could see which way the “T” in crowd of other letter and symbols was pointing much easier than before.

Source: DailyTech (http://www.dailytech.com/Video+Games+Improve+Vision+by+20+Percent/article6009.htm)

[Namslas90]

This is based on the old excercise you eye muscle thing. The Pinhole glasses do the same thing by causing the eye's muscles to work harder thus making them stronger, and faster reacting. It also stretches and strengthens the muscles that operate the Iris and increse focus response.

[sinner33]

Woot, just more reasons to tell someone why video games are good for you. :D

[RickyG512]

i sure do hope so

[J0N]

Surely it depends on the quality of your screen aswell?

[Zero Cool]

well probably.
if ur on CRT you will see blured, so yeah
LCD should be fine thou

[WarEagleAU]

Wow. And here I though games hurt my vision.

[Canuto]

They've hurt mine :shadedshu

[Benpi]

Woot, just more reasons to tell someone why video games are good for you. :D

WOOT!!!

[Scavar]

Man I could have told them that. Over the years ive been playing games, my eyesight has always gotten better. Still its cool to have something officalish on that.

[Easy Rhino]

this really isnt surprising. fast moving games train your brain to pick out objects quickly and catch unexpected movement.

[C.Ash]

So staring at a computer monitor makes ur vision Better??

[zekrahminator]

Maybe I should stay up till 1AM playing Half Life, so that I can see the F I'd get on tomorrow's math exam so much better ;).

[Protius]

WOOT!!!

x 2

[BXtreme]

cool, i've been gaming on my pc for 5 years and still no spectacles/lenses :)

[PVTCaboose1337]

Ya, no glasses here, 20/20 vision!

[RickyG512]

Ya, no glasses here, 20/20 vision!

how old are u

[C.Ash]

I think this isnt right..

Playing a game may increase ur vision, but staring into a monitor has the oposite effect.
This means that ur vision will be better in the short run but worse in the long run. This project proves this.

[niko084]

It has also been proven many times that video games enhance your reflexes and train your thought process...

Do you that *at least average* intelligent people that play games that are fast paced and require fast and quick reaction have been found to get in less car accidents.

There are tons of positives to gaming as long as the person has the ability to sharpen their focus, and doesn't like go insane from a violent game at least.

[niko084]

I think this isnt right..

Playing a game may increase ur vision, but staring into a monitor has the oposite effect.
This means that ur vision will be better in the short run but worse in the long run. This project proves this.

Well staring at a monitor too close or in a dark room can have the opposite effect. Or trying to read text on a dirty looking screen is bad too. I have been an extremely avid computer gamer for ohh about 10 years now, still have 20/15 vision. And by avid I mean sometimes in the means of 50-60 hours a week at some points. Basically all free time, being I don't sleep much at all.

[Zero Cool]

well what really happens is that staring into a small screen without moving your eyes may sharpen ur brain but not eyes, what it infact does is that it lowers your angle of sight!

[RickDStik]

I can certainly see how gaming would improve picking out objects but Im not sure that it would increase overall vision ... when you're gunning for someone in a gaming environment, you pay attention to details a lot more than in average everyday use.

[Ketxxx]

this is nothing new. you can even make a small hole in a bit of paper and use that to help increase eye focus. as already said, it just makes the eye work harder. imo glasses are not a good option as they compensate for your eyes weakness, actually making your eyes weaker over time as the muscle becomes more lazy.

[niko084]

this is nothing new. you can even make a small hole in a bit of paper and use that to help increase eye focus. as already said, it just makes the eye work harder. imo glasses are not a good option as they compensate for your eyes weakness, actually making your eyes weaker over time as the muscle becomes more lazy.

That has been said by doctors also... So you are dead on.

[niko084]

well what really happens is that staring into a small screen without moving your eyes may sharpen ur brain but not eyes, what it infact does is that it lowers your angle of sight!

That would make sense... But then I do things like Autox race, and train in various martial arts forms and with partners, so it pretty much makes up for the other side...

*Considering I don't get kicked in the face some day and lose all sight*:laugh:

[theonetruewill]

I can understand that the reaction speed of interpreting things and focussing on them might be quicker, but I don't think you can say that your vision has improved. Mine's getting worse and worse the more I use my laptop, My dad's gone from -4 to -9 only since he used computers, and my brothers now needing glasses after about 6months of using a laptop after having perfect vision.

[Jimmy 2004]

Plenty of people still have CRT TVs, I bet those do way more harm than an LCD screen. Needing glasses in genetic in most cases - nearly all of my family has needed them, except one of my sisters. She's been expose to PC and TV screens just as much as me and she has perfect vision whilst I've been wearing glasses since I was about 8 or 9. Way before I started using PCs a lot.

That would tell me that six months of having a laptop probably isn't the reason for losing perfect vision.

[niko084]

I can understand that the reaction speed of interpreting things and focussing on them might be quicker, but I don't think you can say that your vision has improved. Mine's getting worse and worse the more I use my laptop, My dad's gone from -4 to -9 only since he used computers, and my brothers now needing glasses after about 6months of using a laptop after having perfect vision.

A laptop would be a different story though.. Unless you have a separate keyboard and mouse or monitor.. You are sitting really close to it.

[Zero Cool]

yea, as long as the monitor is far away, big enough so you move your eyes to the side too, and sharp ( which CRTs are not ) you should be "better off"

[Completely Bonkers]

I think a lot of people are misunderstanding the study. It's not that your eyesight improves... but your "pattern recognition" improves. There is a big difference.

It is well known that eyestrain (from actually NOT using your eyes much = starting at a screen for hours on end) makes your eyes worse and worse... including the "red eye" effect of reading very late at night.

So you eyesight will actually get worse... BUT due to the practice of spotting objects and movement or speed reading text... you get better at spotting things.

[Zero Cool]

yea whats a fast recognition for if you'll see blured

[Dizzy]

I can understand that the reaction speed of interpreting things and focussing on them might be quicker, but I don't think you can say that your vision has improved. Mine's getting worse and worse the more I use my laptop, My dad's gone from -4 to -9 only since he used computers, and my brothers now needing glasses after about 6months of using a laptop after having perfect vision.

But it is also true that your family has a history of wearing glasses, and you've been wearing yours more than your optician said you should. You KNOW how often I use my laptop (for everyone else: at least 3hrs a day, usually much more), and my vision is still pretty perfect.