Mental Health Tips For Gamers
Video games are big business. What was once a niche market has now become a worldwide industry. Gamers come from all walks of life, and esports are bigger than ever. While some still view gaming as a pastime, many know that games can be an important part of many lives. One aspect of gaming that is often overlooked by the media is the importance of mental health for gamers. Mental health impacts our everyday life, and while the negative aspects of gaming are often popularly highlighted, there are many positive effects that gaming can have on one’s mental health and happiness.
Let’s take a look at some tips for improving and maintaining your mental health, as well as the positive impacts that gaming can have on your life!
5 Mental Health Tips
Take Breaks
- Prolonged gaming increases fatigue and risk of tilting or loss of performance.
- Small five minute breaks each hour helps your body and mind reset.
- Longer breaks every few hours help as well; step away from your game, grab a snack, take a quick walk, or reach out to a friend.
Social Connection
- Play and socialize with your friends.
- Find at least one other person to play with on a regular basis, or develop a network of people that you can play and interact with.
- Join a community to increase your sense of connection, belonging, and purpose.
Take Care of Your Body
- Exercise and get regular movement. This will improve your mood, release endorphins, and help with other mental issues such as depression and anxiety.
- Eat healthy and nutritious foods. Food can directly impact our mood on a regular basis.
- Sleep! One of the most detrimental impacts on our mental health is poor sleep habits. Always aim for 7-9 hours per night, and nap during the day if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before!
Meditate
- Take even a little bit of time to do nothing. We’re always working, watching TV, texting, or gaming. Take time to refresh your mind with 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation.
- Countless studies have shown that this can impact your mental health, reduce stress, improve sleep, and also improve your focus and playing ability!
Journal
- Journaling is a simple and powerful way to improve your mental health.
- Jot down your feelings and thoughts; this will help you process everything going through your mind.
- Journaling will help you release emotions, reduce anxiety and stress, and improve your sleep and memory.
- Start simple! Try writing down three things you’re grateful for every day. You’ll be amazed how this type of journaling can make you feel happier!
Positive Impacts
One thing that many often fail to acknowledge is the positive impacts that gaming can have on you and your mental health! While it’s sometimes not discussed as much as it should be, the benefits of gaming on your mental health can include:
- Improvement in high level thinking and fine motor skills.
- Faster analysis, thinking, strategizing, and problem solving.
- Therapeutically beneficial for disorders such as anxiety, depression, antisocial personality disorder (APD), ADHD, PTSD, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Improved social and interaction skills.
Gaming is indeed a huge part of many of our lives, and the benefits they can provide are extremely beneficial to our mental health. By acknowledging those benefits, and doing our part to ensure that we take care of our mental health, we can ensure that we’re on the right track to be the best (and happiest) gamers we can possibly be!
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