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A study titled: Pokémon GO and psychological distress, physical complaints, and work performance among adult workers: a retrospective cohort study was published online on September 7th, 2017 in Scientific Reports. The full study is available on Nature.com.

"The study examines the effects that Pokémon GO has on mental health and the relationships between Pokémon GO and psychological distress from an existing workers’ cohort in Japan. Online surveys were conducted to 3,915 full-time workers, at baseline (Nov 26, 2015–Feb 18, 2016) and at follow-up (Dec 1–4, 2016), using a self-report questionnaire.

The results of the study supported their primary hypotheses, indicating significantly better improvement of psychological distress among Pokémon GO players compared to non-players. The quantitative findings are the first scientific suggestion for the effects of Pokémon GO, the new mobile application game utilizing augmented reality, on mental health among workers.

The present study suggests that working population may also enjoy the benefits of playing Pokémon GO, such as improved mental health. Our findings are in line with a previous study13 which reported that Pokémon GO could have health benefits for participants with different demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex) because the negative association between playing Pokémon GO, and psychological distress remained after adjustment (sex, age, smoking and drinking habits, and job stressors). Therefore, playing games utilizing the technology of augmented reality could be recommended among workers with various characteristics."

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11176-2