The work culture these days has become quite stressful and leaves a person completely spent by the time they are finished with their shift. Not only does this added Stress affect the health of the workers in an adverse way, it also reflects on the quality of work that they are doing. This is why more and more companies are employing methods to implement relaxation in between work, but there has been some debate as to what actually helps the brain to relax and rejuvenate in the span of a short break.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida were also wondering the same thing and wanted to conduct an experiment to find out if their idea or strategy held any weight.
The scientists in the experiment focused on one specific activity which they felt could alleviate stress levels in workers. They wanted to test out whether playing Video Games in between work can decrease the stress levels.
Research proves stress level falls at work by playing video games
Most people play video games, either on their smartphones or in their consoles and computers. However, researchers wanted to see whether the fun activity could be introduced to workers while they were on a break and also interested to find out what implications it would have. So, to conduct the research, the scientists divided 66 workers into three groups and all of the participants were issued a routine and boring task on their computers.
The first group was asked to engage in playing a video game on their phones, named Sushi Cat, during a five-minute break. The second group, on the other hand, was ordered to stay silent and not engage in any activity during the break. The third and final group received a guided relaxation session in the five minutes to help them reduce stress.
The researchers then noted how each of the personnel felt after the break.
What did the research show?
After gathering data from each of the groups, the researchers claimed that the group which had not been allowed to engage in any activity during the experiment suffered increased worry and stress after the break. The group that had undergone relaxation class in the break revealed that they felt less worried and stressed as a result.
However, only the group that played the video game during the break reported to feeling much better than before.
The researchers suggested that it is quite normal for a person to try and power through the day’s work, in a bid to get more done. However, the results of the study here show that this may not be the correct procedure to increase efficiency. In fact, the scientists believe that people who take short breaks frequently from work do not suffer from stress and have a better quality of work as well.
