For gamers to unleash all their potential in tournaments after hours of practice, they need stamina and a fit body. Pro gamers spend over 50 hours each week on their computers practicing for competitions. Most of them end up becoming unfit for lack of exercise and physical activities. Their bodies get strained for sitting in the same position for too long, which causes pain, injury, and stress in many parts of their bodies. Many gamers rarely go to gyms for cardio workouts or even exercises and routines that would keep them fit and healthy as they enjoy their favourite games. It doesn’t have to be like that though. We are no longer in the age where gamers were regarded unhealthy couch potatoes. Listed below are helpful tips every gamer should adopt to help them stay healthy and in great shape.
Hydrate with Purpose
Drinking water helps your body function better. Dehydration may cause your eyes, muscles, and joints to get sore during and after intense gaming sessions. Many gamers prefer to consume soda or other sweetened beverages when they get thirsty. Avoid this and drink water instead. If Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest athletes of our time, trashed soda and advised ‘drink water,’ you have to take that seriously!
Replace the carbonated and caffeinated drinks with water. You can even set a reminder and have regular intervals where you drink water. Have a daily goal (2 litres min) and use the intervals to drink quantities that will add up to the total daily consumption. Replacing caffeinated drinks might be a challenge for some people, but discipline and sacrifice are key. When you hydrate often, it will surprise you how energetic and healthy you feel. You will even be able to put in more hours during practice.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Game Better
Experts say you are what you eat. When you feed your body with too much junk, you will be unfit. Gamers spend a lot of time seated, meaning many of the energy-giving foods and calories they consume get converted to fats and stored. Many gamers crave fried and processed foods, which are not healthy. If that defines you, you should change your diet altogether and start eating healthy meals that will be easy to digest and absorb in the body.
Instead of snacking on the processed junk foods, start consuming more fruits. Incorporating healthy meals full of fibre will help you stay full for longer. This way, you will eliminate the craving for unhealthy snacking. Prepare and cook your meals to ensure they have all the required nutritional value. It will be hard at first but, in a short time, you will start seeing the results in your body and gaming performance.
Take Regular Breaks
Working too hard and taking long gaming sessions without regular breaks can be strenuous. Getting up every once in a while and stretching a bit will be very beneficial to your entire body. Make it a routine to take short walks, even for just five minutes. These help your body relax and relieve any tense joints and muscles. Physical exercises like stretching boost your blood circulation and brain activity. Physical exercise improves your overall mood, enhances cognitive functions, brain activities. All these work together to improve your gaming skills.
Rest Your Eyes Often
When gaming, you put a lot of strain on your eyes. Many gamers overlook this and end up staying on their screen for extended hours than recommended. Straining your eyes may result in regular headaches and nausea. Some gamers end up exposing their eyes to avoidable permanent conditions. Such problems can be avoided by taking rests and breaks at intervals to give your eyes time to relax. It would be best if you considered taking regular breaks and stretching the ciliary muscles in your eyes. Look away from the screen often and focus on an object far from you to help your eyes adjust. Going outside and letting your eyes enjoy the natural lighting is also very beneficial.
Get Adequate Sleep
Sleep deprivation is a severe and common thing with many gamers. “One more turn before I head to bed” that turns into late nights could soon turn into an enormous problem to your overall health. Adequate sleep plays a crucial role in a person’s physical health. Sufficient sleep helps repair and heal the heart, blood vessels and even boost your concentration for maximum performance in gaming. When you deprive yourself of sleep, you risk gaining unhealthy weight and having poor concentration, which leads to poor performance in gaming sessions.
Stay Healthy with the Right Gaming Posture
Many gamers hunch over on their computers and maintain a bad posture while seated, which is critical. While seated, your hands and wrists should always correctly align. Straighten your back often with the computer at an eye level to avoid straining your body. Slouching may cause many problems in your body, like muscle aches, shoulder, neck, back, and even digestive issues. Again, stand up and stretch often to relieve any tense muscles and body parts and ensure you maintain a correct posture during the gaming sessions.
Exercise your Hands and Wrists
Strenuous injuries may cause severe conditions like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that adversely affect a gamer’s career. Taking regular breaks and often exercising your hands and wrists helps to avoid such ailments. Practice simple routines like moving your wrists in circular motions, stretching, flexing all your fingers at least once every hour. They are simple actions that are very beneficial. You can also massage your entire hand, wrists, and fingers every time you are free to relieve any soreness and muscle ache you might be experiencing.
Stay Healthy Mentally
Mental fitness is very crucial for your overall well-being. Unfortunately, many gamers break down because of the immense pressure they get from putting a lot of stress during practice sessions and pressure from their fans and coaches who want them to win in all their upcoming competitions. Such pressure may cause you to break down and even go into depression. Therefore, taking care of your mental health is essential. For instance, if you feel stressed, consider talking to friends and trusted people around you. Consider also taking a well-deserved break from gaming for a while or until you are well enough to resume causing no pressure on yourself.
Clocking out…
Gaming is no longer a mere pastime activity. It is fast becoming a mainstream industry with many players and teams going pro. Once you choose this route, it is important to maintain your body in optimum shape for long hors of stiff competition. It is not just about sharpening your skills; staying game-fit is just as crucial.
Its out with the lazy boy and in with the professional. Those fizzy drinks have to go! Drink water instead. Sleep enough, eat well and take breaks too! Too many gaming hours won’t make you infinitely better. Rather, find a balance. And, like all segaments of the world today, rememeber to take care of your mental health. Take time to feed your brain on other things other than yourt favourite games. Read. Walk. Dance. Watch a show. You will be surprised how disengaging can make you a better gamer.
Still, do not forget to keep checking in here for awesome content on all matters sport and e-sport. And share anything to improve the gaming world in the comment section below! As always, happy gaming!
