Childhood Games Like Super Mario Bros. Can Boost Happiness and Reduce Burnout

For many young adults, downtime has become strangely exhausting. Even moments meant for rest are often filled with scrolling, notifications, and a nagging feeling of pressure to be productive. But new research suggests that relief from burnout might come from an unexpected — and deliciously familiar — place.

A recent study published in JMIR serious games reports that classic games such as Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi can offer more than entertainment. By rekindling a sense of childlike wonder, these games enhance happiness and help protect young adults from burnout.

The findings add to growing evidence that emotional well-being does not always require structured wellness routines. Sometimes it can just start with a little play.

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How Familiar Games Help Relieve Burnout

Burnout is often presented as a consequence of overwork, but the emotional story is more complex. It involves fatigue, cynicism and a sense of joy that has been crowded out from daily life. According to this new research, classic games could interrupt this pattern by creating moments of true emotional renewal.

Study participants described the Super Mario Bros. games. and Yoshi as joyful, heartwarming and deeply nostalgic. These games reminded them of a time before the constant academic pressure and expectations of adulthood. For many students, gaming provided a rare mental break and a space where the stakes seemed low and the fun was easy.

The study found that these feelings aren’t just trivial. Players who experienced a greater sense of childlike wonder while playing also reported greater overall happiness. This happiness was associated with a significantly lower risk of burnout. Importantly, the analysis showed that happiness fully explained the link between wonder and reduced burnout.

Rather than serving as a distraction, these games functioned as what the researchers described as “digital microenvironments”: brief, accessible spaces that allow for an emotional reset without adding pressure.

How Researchers Linked Classic Games to Happiness

To understand why these games had such a strong response, the research team used a mixed methods approach. They conducted in-depth interviews with university students, asking them to think about their gaming experiences, emotional reactions and stress levels. Many students described the games as uplifting and mentally refreshing, especially in the “always on” culture that shapes modern student life.

The researchers then conducted a larger survey to test whether these personal insights were true on a larger scale. The survey confirmed that a greater sense of wonder during gameplay was associated with greater happiness, and that greater happiness was associated with less burnout.

Fight burn-out with video games

The study is among the first to identify childlike wonder as a psychological pathway linking everyday play to mental well-being. This suggests that familiar games may offer a particularly effective form of emotional relief, particularly for young adults with limited time and energy.

“This study suggests that the path forward to combating burnout in young adults lies not only in traditional well-being, but also in the recovery of joy. Games like Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi may offer a powerful antidote to the cynicism and fatigue characteristic of burnout,” concluded author Andreas B. Eisingerich in a press release.

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