Gaming often gets a bad rap for being an unhealthy pursuit and gamers are often characterized as being pale, overweight, and aching all over. We all know that this is not only not true, but also pretty insulting. However, it is fair to say that spending too much time gaming without a break can have a detrimental effect on your health and make it harder for you to play your best game. With that in mind, here are a few things you can do to make your gaming sessions as healthy as they can possibly be:
Take better care of your eyes
You need your eyes to be functioning well if you want to play your best game, so it’s important you take good care of them. If you wear glasses, be sure to get your prescription updated regularly, and where necessary buy a new set, something you can do if you click here. This will help you to avoid eye strain. Another thing you can do to that end is make sure that you take regular breaks, where you look away from the screen for at least 20- seconds every 20 minutes. This will be harder to do if you’re playing live, but whenever you can, make a point of looking away.
Back to the subject of glasses, choosing lenses that filter blue light are great for helping you to avoid migraines and ensuring you can get a good night’s sleep even if you’ve been up playing Fortnite for way too long.
Get up and walk around
PC gamers may find this more difficult than most, but if you’re playing a mobile game or you have a console with wireless controllers, it’s really easy to get up and move around a little while you’re playing. Doing this for the last 10 minutes of every hour will really help to prevent all those aches and pains that can come with a long gaming session, of course, if you can get up and do something else completely every hour or so, that’s even better.
Perfect your posture
It’s so easy to fall into hunching over your keyboard or phone when you’re engrossed in the latest RPG but over time, this will cause your posture to worsen and you may end up with serious neck and back pain to contend with. If you want to avoid this, practice good p[osture: sit with your back straight and your chin slighted ever-so-slightly downwards, ideally on a sturdy chair with a strong back. If you find this difficult, consider buying a posture corrector as this will offer you a lot of support.
Exercise while you play
This one won’t be for everyone, but if you’re the kind of gamer who has no trouble multi-tasking, you might want to consider riding an exercise bike or similar while you play. A few avid gamers have already had this idea and it has helped them to improve their fitness while still being able to do the things they love. Of course, some games like Ring Fit Adventure build actual real-life exercise into the gameplay, which is even better.
Stretch more
The simple act of stretching various parts of your body when you have a second to do so can work wonders for your health, It can also help you to stay nimble when gaming, so you’re less likely to miss that shot or act just a second too late.
Play in nature
Nature has so many health benefits that we should all spend more time outdoors. Luckily for us gamers, there are numerous mobile games, such as Ingress and Pokemon Go that take the gameplay outdoors. Spending some time playing these kinds of titles is a great way to get more fresh air, fit in a little exercise, and enjoy your hobby of gaming – what’s not to love.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to combine gaming with health and vice versa. If you aren’t completely sold on the idea, consider the fact that the healthier you are, the better your brain and body will function, which means that your gaming is likely to improve as a result. Your reactions will be faster, you won’t be sore and agitated, and you will be far more able to meet any challenge that the gaming world throws at you – there’s a reason why so many professional gamers are also big into improving twitter bodies!
So, what are you waiting for? Start incorporating the above ideas into your gaming life and see the benefits for yourself.