A recent study by the University of Leeds, UK has revealed how first-person shooters can impact the stress levels and heart rates of gamers.
While it’s common knowledge that intense moments and clutch situations in shooters can often spike your heart rates by quite a margin, the study shows that video games can also help you relax and reduce your stress levels significantly.
The study, which was commissioned by BetVictor, primarily focused on tactical shooters and battle royale titles like CSGO and Apex Legends. The participants in the study were either ‘good’ or ‘experts’ in their respective FPS titles.
Let’s take a look at the findings of the study.
Most and Least Stressful FPS Games
Below, you can see a chart that shows how the shooters affected players’ heart rates. Their BPM was measured before and after playing their games.
Out of the four games that the study focused on, Apex Legends players showed the biggest spike in heart rates after a game while CSGO players, on the other hand, experienced a lowering of their heart rates on average after a game.
However, stress levels of the participating gamers were an entirely different story. On average, every single shooter saw its players experiencing lower stress levels after playing.
Below, you can see a chart demonstrating the stress levels of the gamers before and after playing their respective games.
Once again, CSGO takes the crown as players experienced the maximum reduction of stress levels after playing the game compared to the other titles.
While the sample size of this study is certainly too low for us to draw any major conclusions, it goes on to show that even though shooters are generally considered to be the most stressful games out there, they can still reduce the stress levels of players by a considerable margin.
