DID you spend hours creating your dream home on The Sims back in the day?

It turns out that playing the life simulation game could actually make you happier and healthier, according to a scientist.

3 A scientist has claimed that playing The Sims is a healthy way to 'escape' and avoid burn out Credit: EA Sports

Psychoanalyst Steve McKeown said that playing games can serve as a healthy escape from everyday life.

He also argued that it is a better alternative to other vices like alcohol and drugs.

Steve said to Unilad: "The suggestion that we may spend more time in a virtual world than the physical one has been developing speedily over the years and has fast become a way in which we can live an alternative life in exactly the way we want.

"The Sims can allow a person to escape social normality, its pressures and chronic stresses that are so prevalent in the real world, it allows the gamer to create a perfect reality in which they play the main character and have full control over the outcome."

3 The Sims lets you control your Sims from cradle to grave, and manage everything in between Credit: EA Sports

He added that there is a risk for people to “burn out” if they don’t have a suitable means of escape.

Steve said that The Sims is a particular positive way to do so as players can explore their lives or personality in a way they hadn’t previously.

He added: “Our consciousness is very adaptable and allows us to create an opening to different paradigms of reality every time we focus on alternate versions of life through our thoughts.

"With the assistance of life simulation games such as Sims we can enhance our inner experience."

3 The latest version of the game is The Sims 4, which was released in 2014

The Sims is one of the best-selling video games of all time, and has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide.

Players are able to create virtual people called “Sims” and then place them in designed homes where they control their actions and moods.

The game was launched in February 2000 and by March 2002 had sold 6.3million copies.

In May, we shared how The Sims 4, which came out in 2014, was available to download for free during a limited promotional period.

The Sims 4 lets you customise your Sims and their houses more than ever before, with the different packs offering you different ways to play and different paths to go down depending on what you enjoy.

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We shared how the latest expansion pack includes mermaids, dolphins and the first-ever official trans Sim.

That came hot on the heels of a free Pride content update for The Sims 4 and other Sims games.