How playing card games can boost your mental health

 Boosting your mental health with card games

I've recently been writing a few posts about hobbies and mental health and which I use to help me destress and enjoy such as fishing or playing video games. Now I'm a mum my free time is limited so I like to utilise it as much as I can to improve my mood and stimulate my brain, one way of doing this is playing online card games.

Online card games have the big benefit of not having to spend time dealing and playing the cards and also being able to play against a computer or solo, meaning games can be as quick as you need. Playing card games online means you can try classics such as solitaire or even try some of the different variations, one of my favourites is spider solitaire it really changes up the original

Benefits to playing card games

Eases boredom and increases motivation

Playing a card game like solitaire can help you as most are simple to learn and easy to play so playing can help you engage your brain and relax when you're feeling bored. It helps to focus the brain on a task and if you succeed or achieve a new high score then you will get a boost of serotonin which could then increase your motivation to do other tasks. It's a really good way of shifting your brains focus or actually increasing it's focus to begin with

Allows alone time

As I mentioned before playing card games is usually quite social, but playing online card games has an added benefit that you can often play alone. Enjoying time to yourself allows you to unwind and your brain to reflect, this is something I didn't realise I needed quite so much until I had a baby. You never get a minute to yourself so stealing 10 minutes to play a game and reduce any mental charge is really valuable to me, it's a great way of focusing on you without others views or opinions too.

Helps develop strategy

The problem solving area of your brain is always in need of extra stimulation so playing a strategic card game is really beneficial for this. The more often you play the quicker your brain gets at learning how to win and solving different problems. To win you will develop skills of patience and planning of how to achieve the result you want which can be applied to other aspects of your life away from card games

It's Fun!

Never underestimate the power of just having fun, relaxing and switching off. Playing games and having fun is just as rewarding for your brain as giving it a challenge. It allows a brain break from daily life and can help you reset and boost your mental health and also allows you to help loved ones struggling with their mental health with a distraction. 

What's your favourite card game?