popcaplogo.jpgThe following study sponsored by PopCap provides solid evidence that casual games can deliver solution strategies for so many of our students. Not to neglect teachers, who can also receive exactly the stress relief and mood enhancement they need, often on a daily basis. We visited with Dr. Carmen Russoniello of East Carolina University in his Greenville office in early March.  Not only does he use the select casual games mentioned in the study with students, he has studied the positive impact it has on US Marines with post traumatic stress disorder.   The following is a summary excerpt from the full press release available online. 
East Carolina University's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies conducted a six-month long, randomized, controlled study that measured the stress-relieving and other mood-lifting effects of so-called "casual" video games.[1]  The three puzzle and word games used in the study, Bejeweled® 2, Peggle™ and Bookworm™ Adventures, are all made by PopCap Games. The hypotheses were tested using state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies to measure heart-rate variability (HRV), electroencephalography (EEG) and subjects' mood states pre- and post-activity (POMS).
 In all cases, the changes in stress levels and mood were measured in comparison to a control group that experienced a Web-based activity similar in physical and mental nature to the game-playing groups. High-level findings of the study are provided below. Additional data, including detailed charts, can be found at www.ecu.edu/biofeedback.
 "I've conducted many clinical studies in the area of recreational therapy in the past, but this was the first one seeking to determine the potential therapeutic value of video games," stated Dr. Carmen Russoniello. "The results of this study are impressive and intriguing, given the extent of the effects of the games on subjects' stress levels and overall mood. When coupled with the very high degree of confidence we have in those results based on the methodology and technologies used, I believe there is a wide range of therapeutic applications of casual games in mood-related disorders such as depression and in stress-related disorders including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Granted, this study was a first step and much more needs to be done before video games can be prescribed to treat medical conditions. However, these exciting results confirm anecdotal evidence that people are playing casual video games to improve their mood and decrease their stress, and herald casual games' potential in health promotion, disease prevention, and treatment of stress- and mood-related disorders."

 

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