9 Bad Habits That Science Says Are Good For You

3. Playing Video Games

There's plenty of hand-wringing and pearl-clutching surrounding discussions about gaming but, despite their reputation for corrupting tender young minds, studies tend to show that they're actually good for your brain.

Regular, moderate gaming can improve skills such as spatial visualisation and hand-eye coordination, increasing gamers' ability to do things such as mentally rotating two- and three-dimensional images. It can also improve scores of attention, cognition, reaction and perception, which makes sense if you think about how often games demand those skills from players. These are all skills required in "real world" learning, and help to keep the brain active and adaptable.

As well as helping to keep the mind active, video games have also found a surprising therapeutic application, as children undergoing chemotherapy need fewer painkillers if they game during treatment.