The Research That Started It All...
Hypotheses on What Games Can Potentially Do
- Lessen time to full recovery for minor illnesses (less stress = enhanced vascular capability = increased oxygen absorption, etc.)
- Reduce feeling of isolation if players can see leaderboards with other players
- Reduce stress, which helps with: heart rate, blood pressure & blood oxygen levels, cognition (allows for better decision making; could potentially help in critical situations), reducing inflammation, regulating blood sugar (by lowering the hormone cortisol)
- Enhance cognition and memory (especially in cases with Alzheimer’s)
- Increase life expectancy during hospice and end of life care: singing and laughing might be able to assist with lymph node drainage and mood, which can increase life expectancy
- Assist with therapy and fall risk (i.e., exergames, ocular muscle building, etc.)
- Increase dopamine (neurotransmitter): which plays a role in regulating heart rate and blood pressure, assists with staying focused, which can help with making critical decisions helps regulate muscle control and coordination, assists with mood, and assists with conditions like Parkinson’s disease
- Enhance the phlebotomy process (i.e., pumping a controller that has a game for the patient to watch, while enhancing the blood flow rate)
- Decrease medical procedurally-based PTSD, by using it as a ‘distraction’
- Increase success rates of chemotherapy: administration of it (vascular system effects), how the body reacts to it/absorbs it, and psychologically
- Decrease triggers for those with stress and mental disorders, such as PTSD
- Enhance the management of autism
- Enhance Patient Centered Care, as an indirect effect, by promoting cross-collaboration and morale between interdisciplinary teams
