6 Healthy Habits

Taking supplements is fabulous, but here are just 6 extra things you can do to boost your health during long gaming sessions:

1: Drink Water!

Fatigue is the enemy of gamers, but instead of relying on energy drinks or caffeine boosts to game longer, just stay hydrated! No, we're not kidding. Staying hydrated keeps tiredness and fatigue at bay and helps the body to maximize physical performance.

It also helps keep your mind sharp. According to the article,

7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Enough Drinking Water :

"Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status. Studies show that even mild dehydration can impair many aspects of brain function.

Researchers found that fluid loss of 1.4% for women and 1.6% for men impaired both mood and concentration. It also increased the frequency of headaches and feelings of anxiety and fatigue."

Many gamers also struggle with their immune system from being indoors for long periods of time. Water is a HUGE help with that. It's a key element in maintaining a healthy immune system. Hello less sick days!

There are a lot of affordable water bottles you can purchase to help keep track of your water intake. Here is a link to one of our favorites: AquaFit1GallonWaterBottle

2: Eye Care

Eye strain from too much screen exposure is a huge problem in the gaming community. Here are some steps you can take to help prevent eye strain and fatigue.

Take eye breaks. Throughout the day, give your eyes a break by looking away from your screen. Try the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. We know it's hard with certain games to look away every 20 minutes, but even every 40 minutes or every hour, it's best to step away for a few minutes and give your eyes some time to rest.

Blink often to refresh your eyes. Many people blink less when staring at a screen. Blinking produces tears that moisten and refresh your eyes. Try to make it a habit to blink more often when looking at a screen.

Screen settings. Change your screen settings to filter Blue Light. Most devices have a "Night" feature that lessens or turns off Blue Light. Alternatively, invest in a pair of blue light glasses to wear while you're looking at a screen. Here's a link to one of our favorite pairs: BlueLightBlockingGlasses. Limiting Blue Light exposure can take a lot of stress off of your eyes and also help you get better sleep.

3: Stretches

The more you game the more joints you strain. Particularly the hands/wrists and neck/back areas.

Strain on your wrist and hand joints from continuous gaming can become very real and very painful. Click on the link below for a basic hand and wrist stretch routine by Dr Corey J. Csakai at Esports Healthcare.

Hand and Wrist Stretch Routine

Neck and back pain also occur frequently when you have rounded shoulders from hunching over for long periods of time. Poor posture from rounded shoulders becomes a habit that can trigger everything from neck pain and headaches to lower back strain and poor circulation. The link below gives many effective stretches you can do to heal or prevent rounded shoulders.

Rounded Shoulders Stretch Routine

Do these routines after any gaming session to avoid future strain on your muscles and joints.

Check out EsportsHealthcare.com for more professional healthcare information regarding Esports.

4: Go Outside!

Being inside and sitting all day can take a toll on you; especially your mood. Getting outside is rejuvenating and will help you avoid those end of the day slumps. Vitamin D is your friend!

Sitting all day can also cut off circulation and lead to blood clots if you aren't carful. Walking around and getting that blood flowing is vital for self care!

If you're in an area or situation where it's difficult to go outside, just getting up and doing a simple task like making your bed or reading a few pages of a book is helpful for mood improvement. You can even implement numbers 1 and 3 above and get some water and stretch for a few minutes. Breaks are important and can make all the difference!

5: Nutrition

Two big struggles in the gaming community are bad moods and bad sleeping habits. Nutritious food can majorly help with both! If you want to be at peak performance in your gaming, then nutrition can make all the difference. Not only does it help with mood and sleep, but it can increase reaction time, focus, energy and a mountain of other things.

Gamers tend to eat quick, easy snacks instead of focusing on having a balanced meal. Though beneficial in the short term so you don't have to leave your game, the long term effects can be dire. Click on the link below to read about ways to change your food habits.

Esports Nutrition

6: Mental Health

Mental health is one of the biggest health risks for not only the gaming community, but the entire internet generation today. Regular mental wellness checks are vital, but it's hard to know who to turn to or where to start.

Dr. Alok Kanojia, otherwise known as The Healthy Gamer is a world leading expert of gaming psychiatry. His company healthygamer.gg has all the resources and information you will need to know to get started on your mental health journey!