{"id":19873,"date":"2021-11-04T10:16:04","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T10:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=19873"},"modified":"2021-11-04T10:16:04","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T10:16:04","slug":"can-video-games-improve-vision","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/can-video-games-improve-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Video Games Improve Vision?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>According to new research, playing specific video games can improve your eyesight.<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>For a study conducted by researcher Daphne Maurer of McMaster University in Canada, games like Halo and Medal of Honor were played to see if video games can improve your eyesight.<\/p>\n<p>Another study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Neuroscience, found claims that playing action games improves a person&#8217;s night vision.<\/p>\n<p>The capacity to see objects in twilight circumstances, when colors fade into distinct shades of grey, was found to be greatly improved by games involving aiming and firing.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor near you<\/a> to discuss ways to improve your vision.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/top-4-tips-to-relax-your-eyes\/\">Top 4 Tips to Relax Your Eyes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>Background<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>The goal of the study was to see if eyesight can improve by playing visually stimulating video games.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>When we play video games, our bodies produce more adrenaline and dopamine, which leads to increased brain activity. That, in turn, may improve visual acuity.<\/p>\n<p>During the study, six patients with low vision from significant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-conditions\/guide-to-cataracts\/\">cataracts<\/a> were instructed to play 40 hours of video games over the course of a month.<\/p>\n<p>These specific games were chosen because they require the player to focus on fast action and moving items that dart across the screen swiftly.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Results<\/b><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Improved vision for 5 of the 6 patients<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">30% improvement in contrast sensitivity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Contrast sensitivity aids in the ability to recognize faces, read small print, and track moving objects.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>This small study revealed that regular players of action games had better contrast sensitivity than non-gamers, suggesting that video games can boost this skill<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Research suggests that video games may be a useful tool to improve vision for those with contrast sensitivity problems.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is contrast sensitivity?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Contrast sensitivity is an important measure of visual function, especially in low-light, foggy, or glare settings, when the contrast between objects and their surroundings is often reduced.<\/p>\n<p><b>Driving at night, for example, necessitates a high level of contrast sensitivity for safety.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Even if you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/vision-therapy\/vision-therapy-for-children\/the-myth-of-20-20\/is-20-20-perfect-sight\/\">20\/20 vision<\/a>, certain eye or health disorders can reduce contrast sensitivity and make you feel as if you are not seeing well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/\">Guide to Eye Health<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">Contact an eye doctor near you<\/a> to discuss ways to improve your vision.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to new research, playing specific video games can improve your eyesight. For a study conducted by researcher Daphne Maurer of McMaster University in Canada,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1206,"featured_media":19875,"parent":9992,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19873","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can Video Games Improve Vision? - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-eye-health\/eyes-the-windows-to-your-health\/can-video-games-improve-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Video Games Improve Vision? - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to new research, playing specific video games can improve your eyesight. 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