Gaming has always been unhappily associated with the picture of bad health: obesity and exhaustion caused by binge gaming sessions where gamers gorge on high-sugar and high-fat food and drink in order to fuel their gaming highs. Negative connotations of gaming have led to many sceptics accusing all gamers of being unhealthy, both mentally and physically, and blame the games’ “addictive” traits for gamers’ ill-health.
But gaming doesn’t have to mean poor health, and here are a few tips to prove the cynics wrong.
sort out your snacks
I know it’s tempting to stock up on Doritos and to Do The Dew until the wee hours of the morn, but planning your food and drink in advance can really help you to stay a little healthier during long gaming sessions. Something I like to to is to make smoothies; you can throw a bunch of your favourite fruits/veggies in a blender and then have something quick to sip on whilst gaming. It’s good for you and you can make them in like ten seconds (minus the time it takes to clean all the gunk out of the blender, of course.)
Other quick snacks that are good to grab/nibble at whilst gaming are little things like nuts, seeds and dried fruit. You can also cut up some carrot/cucumber/pepper and enjoy it with a low-fat dip like hummus or a homemade salsa. All of these are quick/easy to make and eat, and can be eaten with one hand.
game with friends
Gaming with friends can help you to regulate time and also make sure that you’re not too fully engrossed in your gaming sessions. Unless you’re all striving towards a common goal (I can’t tell you how many hours of Junkenstein’s Revenge I played with friends to try to get those achievements), gaming with friends will usually mean that you all have to work around each others’ schedules, and that you’ll minimise and regulate your gaming time out of necessity.
time yourself
Talking of time, if you’re not gaming with friends, it’s a good idea to time yourself. You can either do this via checking the clock (“I’ll play until six”, “I’ll play for an hour” etc.) or by timing yourself to goals (“I’ll stop after I finish this quest”, “I’ll just get this achievement”) but make sure you actually stick to these arrangements! One quest can so easily lead to another, and the hours can go by very quickly when you’re engrossed in a game.
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take regular breaks
Whilst timing your gaming sessions, make sure you factor in some breaks. These breaks can consist of anything (as long as you’re away from the screen) but I’d recommend spending them outdoors if possible. Take the dog for a walk, clean out the rabbits, walk to a local cafe and grab a drink…it doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, just a change of environment and a short period of light exercise can really help your health in the long run. You’ll also pick up some of that sweet Vitamin D, which helps with things like keeping your teeth/bones strong, and protecting you from certain diseases.
Breaks are important for your mental health too: it’s good to think above something other than what’s on the screen, and take your focus away from your game(s) entirely. Vitamin D is also important for mood regulation!
get moving whilst gaming
Without wanting to sound like a Wii commercial, it’s good to pick up a movement-based game once in a while. If you have access to a game and/or console which utilises body movement, it can make a good change from being hunched over a desk all day.
Another tip for fitness gaming is to try out some smartphone apps that help you to forget that you’re actually getting some exercise. Apps like Zombies, Run! help to take the focus off of fatigue whilst running/jogging, and the app store is also full of apps to help you with things like calorie counting and helping you set a goal for taking a certain amount of steps in a day. And, of course, Pokemon Go is helping people get out and about, so that might be something to try if you’re part of the 0.001% of the planet who haven’t caught them all yet!
Do you have any tips for being a healthier gamer? Let us know in the comments below!
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