The Arcade: Towards Success

Interested in bringing video games to the Main Library? Join us for pop-up events and make your voices heard!

The University of Iowa is one of few institutions in the country with holistic well-being and success as a core tenet of their strategic plan. This aspect focuses specifically on "embedding well-being and mental health into all aspects of campus culture to better support students, faculty, and staff."

Our Game Breaks are built around furthering this goal.

This page will illustrate some campus-wide resources that promote well-being and mental health, as well as academic and researched-based justifications for continued engagements focused on play.

Current Trends in Students' Mental Health

Images taken from Student Wellness & Academic Libraries presentation during the BTAA Student Wellness Symposium, April 2025

If stress and mental health are negatively affecting students' ability to learn, and generalized and social anxiety are increasing, how can we--specifically in The Library--work to alleviate these conditions?

We take breaks. We build community. We play games.

The Effects of Casual Videogames on Anxiety, Depression, Stress and Low Mood: A Systematic Review

"Although, evidence-based treatments exist, there is no one size fits all solution for treating mental health symptoms. Furthermore, as common mental health disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent and contribute to losses in both health and functioning, it is imperative to explore a range of therapeutic options... [Casual video games are] particularly beneficial for those who may wish to engage with additional supports or are waiting to access treatment... This review suggests that [casual video games] may have promise for treating anxiety, depression, stress, and low mood."

Stress-Reducing Effects of Playing a Casual Video Game among Undergraduate Students

"We found that playing a casual video game, such as Flower, can be an effective medium to lowering psychological and physiological student stress, a finding that is consistent with several studies from the literature... [An additional study] observed that those who played a casual video game experienced improved mood and reduced physiological stress compared to baseline, thus supporting our study’s observation of casual video games’ potential stress-reducing benefit... We found that playing a casual video game was just as effective as meditating for physiological stress reduction"

Gaming Well: Links Between Videogames and Flourishing Mental Health

"This review of the literature would suggest that videogame play has the potential to enhance life satisfaction and improve individual player’s mental well-being. The inherent nature of videogames appears to promote and facilitate all aspects of Seligman’s PERMA model, e g., Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. Considering game play within this model suggests that play can have a positive effect on the mental health of individuals in society engaged in moderate videogaming. Positive emotion contributes to the make-up of happiness and well-being. Literature provides links between positive mental well-being and play, providing illustrations of where game play provides a means of relaxation and stress reduction..."

Your brain on video games

This video is thirteen years old, yet speaks directly to the benefits of games on the brain. The research still stands today, and has grown substantially, yet in this brief discussion it is shown that games (specifically action games) have positive and lasting effects on our neuroplasticity and ability.