How To Make Sure Your Gaming Is Healthy
The world of online gaming is fast-paced, entertaining, hugely rewarding – but unfortunately, it can also be quite addictive. Even the most moderate of us has found ourselves struggling occasionally to put down the controller to get enough sleep, or to stop scrolling through Adventure Palace when we know we should be watching our spending. Games of every kind are specifically engineered to be engaging, and although this means a great player experience, sadly it can make it hard sometimes to draw the line. Your wellbeing should always come first, so practising responsible gaming is key to keeping your life in balance and ensuring that play time remains a great experience. So how do you make sure that you’re staying on track?
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Set Limits On Your Play
The amounts of both time and money that you can spend on gaming are infinite. You enter into a world with no limits – so you have to set those limits for yourself. Before you log on, decide in advance how much you’re willing to spend and how much your personal budget allows you. You should also decide on an appropriate amount of time for play – experts recommend a maximum of two hours in order to keep your mental and physical well being in check. If you feel that your mental health would benefit from support from a licensed mental health professional, click here. In case you use a lot of apps for gaming, it is possible to download apps which limit your screen time in order to help you stay off devices when needed.
Aim For Balance
As gaming is exclusively an indoor activity, it can be helpful to make sure that you’re getting enough time outside to balance it out – this is especially applicable in the winter months, when a lack of exposure to sunlight can send Vitamin D and serotonin levels plunging. To support this, aim to spend at least 30 minutes a day outside, preferably fitting in a walk at lunch time. This naturally supports the chemical processes in the body and brain, and can help to reset your Circadian Rhythm, which can become easily disturbed by late night gaming sessions.
Prioritize Slee
Sleep is one of the main areas which can suffer when we start gaming excessively. It’s easier to let time slip through your fingers at night, but if you find that you aren’t getting enough sleep and are suffering the consequences the next day, it’s time to take action. When we don’t get the quality and quantity of sleep that we need, everything suffers, from our mental state to our willpower, metabolism and ability to concentrate. To keep things running smoothly, make sure that you’re practising good sleep hygiene. This includes banning all electronics from the bedroom, as screens emit blue light which disrupts the production of melatonin, the natural chemical which sends us to sleep.
Book In Some Face To Face Time
If you’ve found yourself using games socially, as a way to spend time with friends either in real life or online, then it’s healthy to ensure that this is mixed in with other forms of interaction. Booking in a meal with friends, going bowling or even doing some real sport together rather than esports and organising a match is a great way to balance out your gaming sessions, take a break from screen time and still ensures you’re spending time with your buddies.