Playing board games improves your memory and mood

Do you and your friends and/or family like to play board games? You mostly do that for the purpose of having fun or spending time together, but did you know that it also provides actual benefits? Let me list them for you!

1. Spending less time on your phone

Playing a board game requires utmost concentration and a phone doesn’t help with that. Being too busy on your phone causes stress and disturbed sleep rhythm, among other things. So, playing board games is a much better choice.

2. Building relationships

Playing board games makes for better friendships and relationships between family members. Working together strengthens the bond between you. Any positive interaction with the other person benefits your relationship. In addition, such social moments lead to interesting conversations where you get to know the other person better.

3. Memories

Nowadays, many people are often on their phones. By playing a board game together, you live more in the moment. This allows you to make memories that you’ll remember for years to come.

4. Good for children

Children can learn a lot by playing board games. For example, they learn how to deal with loss, how to work together, when to wait, and how much fun they can have. In addition, playing board games also improve cognitive skills, such as problem-solving, attention, and memory. It’s important that the game is completed without interruptions.

5. Reduces stress

Playing a board game allows you to let go of negative thoughts for a while. This reduces feelings of stress. You’re forced to do something else for a while and this often results in a good, relaxed feeling. For many people, about 64%, the main goal of playing a board game is to reduce stress. Every time you laugh during the game, the amount of cortisol (stress hormone) in your body will decrease. Your body now produces more endorphins, which makes you feel happier.

6. Cognitive skills

Some games require concentration and focus. For example, you use your memory or you need to be able to calculate quickly. A study found that people who played a lot of board games performed better in cognitive areas such as memory, thinking speed, and problem-solving skills.

7. Social threshold

Some people find it difficult to start a conversation out of the blue. A game makes it easier to have a light-hearted conversation. Often you play a game with people you already know and in addition, the rules of a game are fixed, making it easier to start a conversation.

8. Boosts confidence

By playing a board game every now and then, your confidence will grow. You dare to rely more on your own skills and this makes you a lot more confident. If you come up with a certain (winning) strategy while playing a game, you’ll also see yourself as an intelligent person. In addition, you also learn, for example, to make choices in stressful situations. This skill will also come in handy in life.

Love, Skye Lewis ❤

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