There is a Time for Screen Time

“For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.”  — Alfred Hitchcock

There is a time for everything. There is a time for chores, a time for studying, a time for partying, and a time to stare at a screen. This blog is based on maximizing potential but also the idea of a balance of all things in life, including time to veg out. At some point, everyone requires downtime in the form of shows, movies, or video games.

In some ways, video games are good for you. Controlled video game playing was shown to reduce multitasking difficulties and cognitive control deficits in older adults (60–85 years old)¹. Certain games benefit children by enhancing problem-solving and critical thinking skills, improving creativity/imagination, spatial reasoning, collaboration, communication and leadership skills². Similar mind benefits were found when studying brain activity while watching movies. Thermodynamics showed flatter brain patterns, suggesting that less computation is needed when watching movies³. This provides your mind active rest, on top of enjoyment of the movie (i.e. laughter in the case of comedies).

As with all things, there is such a thing as too much. Binge-watching was significantly associated with five types of mental health concerns (depression, loneliness, sleep problems, anxiety, and stress) with the most robust correlations found with stress and anxiety⁴. Watching TV or playing video games here and there is fine and, as stated above, beneficial. Conversely, if you find yourself constantly binging it might be time to reflect on why or talk to a licensed professional. There is endless great and entertaining content out there, so enjoy your downtime. Although, before your butt groove in the couch gets too deep, remember the world is much bigger in real life.

Action: Enjoy your screen time in moderation this week.

Hint: There is no magic number, but anything over 3.5 hours a day of screen time is linked to cognitive decline⁵. We would argue that even 3.5 hours is too much.

Further Reading:

1. Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults
2. Minecraft: Exploring the Incredible Benefits of Minecraft
3. Toward naturalistic neuroscience: Mechanisms underlying the flattening of brain hierarchy in movie-watching compared to rest and task
4. Binge-Watching and Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
5. Television viewing and cognitive decline in older age: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing