According to new research from the New Scientist playing war-themed computer games can actually help Soldiers to cope with mental trauma that they have experienced on the frontline. Playing games actually helped those surveyed to block nightmares being suffered by serving Soldiers.
The survey conducted by the New Scientist found out that when a group of 98 military personnel played war-based computer games reduced the level of harm and aggression they felt when they were dreaming.
Not only were the dreams far less intense, they also felt that they were able to fight back against the threatening force that appear in their subconscious.
A control group was also used who didn’t play games reported that they had more violent dreams, as well as a general sense of helplessness.
Gackenbach who was in charge of the research, explained the results, pointing to the fact that violent games act as a “threat simulator,” conditioning the mind to process similarly brutal scenarios that manifest themselves in nightmares.
She also claimed that the popularity of gaming amongst soldiers serving in war zones might actually be helping them, she sated it was a form of unconscious self-medication against the horrors that many of them witness on a daily basis.
Gackenbach told delegates at the GDC: “They’re taking PlayStation 3s, Xbox 360s and other consoles into the field and playing them all the time. And it turns out, there may be a good reason to let them do that.”
So Call Of Duty can actually help soldiers control their subconscious – we wonder what would happen if they did the same study with another type of game.