As a gamer, you may want to consider how to best look after your health. While gaming may not be associated with dangerous activity or risk, there are a number of factors that might negatively affect you through lots of screentime and a mostly sedentary lifestyle. Thinking about ways that you can positively impact your health, and then putting those plans into action, could allow you to feel better overall, and even have more energy when playing the games themselves.
Your eyesight can be a major factor when gaming. Poor vision may not allow you to take in everything that is being shown on the screen. This can be incredibly frustrating. One of the biggest things that can cause issues with your eyes when gaming can be blue light. Thankfully, it is possible to get blue light glasses to help minimize the amount of light to actually reach your eyes. This can help to stop you from suffering from headaches, especially with long periods in front of the screen. You may also find that you no longer need to deal with a stiff neck, or even sore eyes, once as much blue light as possible has been omitted from your view.
Staying hydrated can also help you to remain healthy and give your eyes and brain a better chance of following what is going on on-screen. Failure to do so can again lead to nasty headaches, as well as dry, irritated eyes. You may also be able to reduce the likelihood of the symptoms of eye strain simply by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. On top of this, you may also find yourself snacking more which may lead to weight gain. Drinking plenty of water not only helps to keep your eyes lubricated and brain healthy, but it can also help to fill you up a bit more, which, in combination with physical activity, can do your body the world of good.
Gaming may also have a detrimental effect on your ability to get a good night’s sleep. This may be made worse if you are deliberately staying up late, or ignoring your bedtime routine, to get a few more rounds in. In a variety of studies, it was sometimes found that those who played video games before bed might have lower-quality sleep. In addition to this, it also took a longer amount of time for the individuals to fall asleep in the first place. Therefore, it can be a good idea to set strict limits on your gaming, especially later on in the day. Having these limits in place may also help with your general self-care and vision by allowing you breaks and times for your eyes to rest and to gain nutrition.
Having some time to enjoy video games each day or week is usually not a problem. However, if it is consuming your life or your health is suffering because of these games, you may need to rethink. Wearing your glasses and maintaining your physical health may help you to gain more enjoyment.