Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not just the absence of diseases and physical defects
Foreword.
Since the 21st century, video games have become an integral part of our lives, taking pride of place on a par with books, films and other forms of art. However, the older generation still has the opinion that all your problems (and sometimes not only yours) arise from the fact that you are sitting at the computer, instead of playing with friends on the street or doing something important. One of your parents’ arguments is that video games are harmful to your health because someone on TV said so.
Naturally, feeling yourself in complete physical and mental health, you are offended by such injustice, trying to prove the opposite, but everything is like peas against a wall. Soon you are still labeled as a drug addict and even the calmest person can lose his temper.
How so? What you do and what you love with all your heart is poured with slops, and you are considered narrow-minded for no reason. Soon, you give up all attempts to prove your point of view and just try not to pay attention to the reproaches in your address, while not even allowing the thought:
Maybe video games really have a negative impact on our health?
I will say right away that video games themselves do not have a direct effect on your physical health, on the contrary, many studies prove that video games have a positive effect on the human body: the development of reaction, logic, communication, mental abilities, etc.
And even more so video games do not make you psychotic maniacs that harm others.
However, as you already understood, they still have an indirect effect on a person, or more precisely, it is not video games that affect health (the exception is stress), but what state you are in while playing them.
In this blog, as a medical student and a video game lover, I would like to clarify some points related to your health, as well as give small recommendations on how to cope (as we, gamers say) some diseases so that you stay healthy and happy 🙂
The main problems faced by gamers.
I would like to refer to the main problems
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Incorrect seating in the chair.
- Improper nutrition.
- Disrupted sleep mode.
Sedentary lifestyle.
This problem is not specific to gamers, but this does not make it less significant. Count how long you sit at the computer? And if before that you spent half a day at school, university, at an unloved job, in the zone, of course, after a hard day, you want to relax, and then friends are calling the rink (how can you refuse?) And for the last 2 hours before going to bed you played a couple skating rink and almost satisfied went to bed for another 8 hours. In total, during the day you were active at most for several hours, unless of course you work in a factory or do not go through dark souls on a dance mat. Needless to say, this is not enough, the situation is even worse in our time, when during a pandemic, many people work or study remotely, it turns out that your entire route is bed-> refrigerator-> computer-> refrigerator-> bed.
What are the consequences?
A sedentary lifestyle means that you burn very few calories, which leads to obesity , unless of course you are lucky and you have a very fast metabolism, that you can eat half a McDuck menu and not get fat, but this is just an exception to the rule. In addition, due to a sedentary lifestyle, your muscles practically do not develop, so not only are you fat, you are also skinny, which I highly discourage.
And don’t listen to Maestro Ponasenkov, fat is not a sign of aristocracy.
From 1975 to 2016 the number of people suffering from obesity , all over the world has more than tripled, making this disease the official challenge of the XXI century.
What does obesity lead to?
- hypertonic disease.
- coronary artery disease.
- myocardial infarction.
- varicose veins.
- oncological diseases.
Naturally, it is not at all necessary that you have these diseases, however, the greater the degree of obesity, the greater the risk of complications. And of course, increased blood pressure will not occur in one week, but be sure, it will arise, and no one wants to die of a heart attack at the age of 40.
Recommendations.
In order to prevent this situation, I advise you to move more (use faces, not teleport scrolls), for example, you can not use the elevator if you live in an apartment, but climb the stairs, do not use cars or public transport, but walk the path to work / study on foot , if work is far away, you can go half or a third of the way, even though now there is a pandemic, you have the opportunity to sign up for a gym or pool, take friends with you (by the way, find friends) , so it will be easier for you to observe the regime (at least 2-3 once a week of active physical activity), you can do home workouts. Also, watch your diet (more on this later). If you have not been able to lose weight for a long time, I strongly recommend that you go to a therapist / nutritionist , they are specialists and will definitely help you, do not be shy or afraid of doctors, Remember: you should not be ashamed if you are overweight, you should be ashamed if you are not trying to fix it.
Incorrect seating in the chair.
Have you noticed in what position you sit at the computer? If your posture is like this-
Then do not be surprised when, at the age of 20, your back begins to ache.
In fact, improper fit harms not only the spine, but also has an indirect effect on the respiratory and genitourinary system, as well as on the organs of vision.
Everything is simpler here than in the last paragraph, you just need to sit at the computer correctly. There are a lot of pictures and tips on the right fit on the Internet, just in case.
- legs above the knee should be level on the seat;
- legs should be bent at the knees at an angle of 90 degrees;
- the feet should be at an angle of 90 degrees relative to the lower leg and touch the floor with the entire foot area;
- the back should be at an angle of 100-135 degrees relative to the legs (if possible);
- hands should be pressed on the sides of the body;
- the shoulders and neck should be relaxed;
- the eyes should comfortably see the screen without the need to stretch, lower or strain the neck and eyes.
What can an incorrect landing lead to?
Long-term curvature of posture (over several years) provokes the formation of intervertebral hernias, and they damage the spinal cord. Which on the one hand is a plus, since it is easier to cosplay Naruto, but on the other hand, constant lower back pain is not something to be proud of.
Lateral curvature of the spine leads to deformation of the chest. Because of this, the person has breathing problems.
In a seated position, breathing can become shallow and cause other problems. Shallow breathing can unconsciously change the posture, while deep breathing with the diaphragm engaged helps maintain the correct posture.
Curvature of the cervical vertebra contributes to the appearance of osteochondrosis. Also, in some cases, blood circulation may be impaired, which causes regular headaches. Which further leads to defects in memory, attention and performance.
Irritability, severe fatigue and weakness are manifested.
A severe curvature of the spine in the lumbar region causes deformation of the internal organs. It also negatively affects all organs of the small pelvis and the genitourinary system.
Vision.
The computer does NOT cause damage to the organs of vision, contrary to the opinion of your parents, modern monitors do not emit any harmful radiation, this effect was observed only on the first monitors, However, a long stay at the computer still tires the eyes, this is due to the fact that the ciliary muscle is straining. She is responsible for accommodation – this is the name of the ability to see at different distances. And although doctors say that a computer cannot cause myopia in an adult, in children, this effect can be observed. In addition, our eyeball constantly dries up, due to the fact that we rarely blink.
Recommendations.
Try to monitor your posture, sit in a chair that is comfortable for you (not on a stool!), Take breaks and warm-ups for the eyes and the whole body (look into the distance, make circles with your eyes, etc.). If your chair does not have a built-in cushion, using a homemade cushion behind your lower back will help you maintain the correct posture. I would also like to say about headphones, do not set the volume too high, otherwise hearing may deteriorate, especially with in-ear headphones. If complications arise (acute persistent pain in the spine, loss of visual acuity, impaired psycho-emotional state), consult a doctor.
Improper nutrition.
The diet is individual for everyone, but I rarely notice that someone adheres to the correct diet (eat vegetables and fruits in sufficient quantities, count calories, etc.). Often, due to lack of time or other reasons, we order fast food and eat food right at the computer, firstly, with fat hands we touch the keyboard, mouse, gamepad, and this is horrible how unpleasant, I don’t know what kind of pervert you have to be do with technology, secondly, fast food in itself is not useful and leads all to the same obesity, the harm of which was above. We also consume carcinogens together with fatty foods.(substances contributing to the formation of cancer) if you look at the statistics, you will notice that stomach cancer ranks fifth among all types of cancers (accounting for 7% of cases). Not only carcinogens cause cancer, but fatty foods themselves can lead to the formation of stomach and duodenal ulcers, and ulcers are already a precancerous process. Also, an unhealthy diet leads to an excess of cholesterol, which in turn is a factor in the formation of atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension. An excess of salt and spices leads to the formation of edema, and an excess of sugar leads to obesity and, as a result, diabetes mellitus.
Recommendations.
It is not necessary to become a vegetarian to be healthy, I just advise you to limit your fast food intake (no more than 1 time in 2 weeks) and save money, try to cook yourself, preferably two times a week to eat liquid food and fish and about 300 grams of vegetables or fruits per day, these averaged figures do not have to adhere to a strict framework. You definitely need to have breakfast,I know that in the morning I don’t feel like eating, and I don’t have enough time, but you still need to arrange a small snack, just get up 10 minutes early and cook yourself, for example, oatmeal, after a couple of days, get used to it and you will feel better. Also, do not eat at the computer, as this is corny and not aesthetically pleasing, and in extreme cases, it can lead to equipment breakdown. Well, try to eat food 3-4 times a day (ideally 5-6 times in small portions), but if you eat 1-2 times a day, the bile secreted by the liver stagnates in the gallbladder, since it is time to eat according to the schedule, and you do not do this, as a result it can lead to gallstone disease.
Disrupted sleep mode.
I think each of us had such a problem, despite the fact that tomorrow we get up early, we play dotka or ksku waiting for the cherished victory, as a result, we go to bed at 5 in the morning and, having slept for 3 hours, we go angry and annoyed to work / school, we also spoil the mood of other people. In addition, some studies talk about heart and vascular problems in people with poor sleep patterns, and let’s not forget about chronic fatigue syndrome, a decrease in immunity and a banal inability to concentrate. So sleep is irreplaceable for the body.
Recommendations.
For myself personally, I established a rule using the example of playing Sekiro , when I reached the last boss, the clock was already one in the morning, and picking it for another hour without much success, I realized that I just need to let go and go to bed, and now in the morning, with on the second try I beat him. The morning of the evening is wiser, it is always better to start something with fresh energy, so I recommend that you do not try to finish the game, defeat a difficult boss, play until the first victorious rink, but just go to bed. Physiology tells us that we need to sleep 7-9 hours a day and go to bed until 1 am, since it is during this period that the peak in the production of the protein rhodopsin and the hormone melatonin (regulates sleep) occurs .Rhodopsin, being in the sticks of the eye, is destroyed and provides us with vision, but at night it is restored. I would also like to tell you how to restore sleep modeby example. Naturally, if you went to bed at 3 in the morning, and now you have to go to bed at 11 in the evening in order to get up on time and sleep 8 hours, then you will not be able to do this right away, since in this case you will have insomnia (still, it turns out, that you were awake only 12 hours) and you stay in bed until the same 3 nights, so you need to restore the regime gradually, over the course of a week, try to go to bed half an hour / hour early every day until you reach the right time, if you still have nothing If you can’t fall asleep, then try to be patient and not open your eyes, sleep will come to you (the servers are just loaded), just try not to drink coffee in the afternoon and you can still try to eat food containing magnesium (spinach, beans, carrots). Don’t take sleeping pills!Then it will be difficult to fall asleep without it, not to mention the other dangerous effects caused by their overdose.
And try to smile at people in the morning)
Stress.
And now we come to the most subjective problem in this blog. Unlike other issues, video games have a direct impact on stress. I want to clarify that, in my opinion, stress, in my opinion, is more caused by online games and to a lesser extent by single ones (like the same sekiro), and well, the prices for video cards ((((((((((((
Stress is the body’s response to extreme conditions that disturb a person’s emotional peace and balance.
From a physiological point of view, a distinction is made between eustress and distress. Eustress causes a short-term stimulus that mobilizes the reserve forces of the body, if you give an example, these are the sensations when you caught a screamer in a horror game, first there is a fear, and then you realize that you are safe. At this point, the body releases dopamine and you feel relief and pleasure. Distress is stress associated with pronounced negative emotions and has a harmful effect on health. Unlike eustress, distress requires a long-term stimulus that depletes your body’s resources, which can lead to neurosis or psychosis. In the same horror movies, if the game keeps you in suspense for 5 hours with its oppressive atmosphere, without giving time to rest, you start to get tired and are already going to turn off the game. So in horror movies it lasts several hours, but what if you keep you in suspense for thousands of hours? Yes, I’m talking about online games, I myself have 2k hours in Dota and 1k in CSK.
I remember the times when I just started playing these games, it was amazing, sometimes my friends and I were fanatical, sometimes we sweated on the rating, and it always brought us pleasure, and rarely when I bombed if something didn’t work out. But over time, somewhere after 500 hours, the effect of games was similar to the effect of cigarettes, I tried to come home as soon as possible to play with the guys, and with each rink my anger from defeat increased, and the joy from winning a game decreased, like and cigarettes, games were addictive, and I had to play them more and more. Praise the Poles, then the Witcher 3 came out (I advise everyone if you haven’t played yet) and I got out of this vicious circle, became less aggressive, there was more free time, some pluses, whatever you look at.
I will give you a list of possible irritants using cs: go as an example:
- You lose several games in a row with a close score.
- Not promoted.
- I can’t play well.
- You play well, but cheaters are against you.
- You play well, but the team is ruining (hello guys from NAVI).
- A friend you play with constantly reproaches you for a bad game.
- Favorite team lost in esports (hello NAVI again).
Maybe you even have a friend who constantly imitates well-known streamers, believes that he plays the coolest, and everyone else just ruins him, and also screams like a psychiatric hospital patient at every opportunity (I advise such people to cut off the wire from the Internet as soon as possible) …
As you can see, there are enough stimuli, but the pleasure even from victories is no longer felt. As a result, you become too nervous because of this and go to light up stress (I know people who smoke after every skating rink, I think about the dangers of smoking, I don’t need to tell) or you go to seize stress, in extreme cases it can be washed down. Also, your friends notice that you have become aggressive and irritable lately, you constantly break down on them or on your family, although they are not to blame for anything.
For fairness, I will give a list of possible irritants using the example of the same witcher:
- But THERE’S NO!
So, what can annoy you in a single player game? bad plot or optimization? I’m sure any problem is not half as insane as problems in online games. But only in single games can you take a break from external stress. In addition, as I said, games are an art, where, if not in them, you can emphasize interesting moments for the development of your personality, what else will bring you such aesthetic pleasure that you get following the plot of a good game, its narrative, design and gameplay?
I hope I conveyed my thought to you and I sincerely wish you to get out of the cycle of stress in your life, because it is not only the cause of mental disorders, stress quite really affects the work of the heart and digestive organs, and depression can also lead to such diseases , psoriasis, etc.
Recommendations.
Do not be nervous! remember, these are just games, think about how other people live without them, if you still want to play them, then try to treat them more simply, devote less time to online games and more solo, with a good storyline (fortunately, stopgame is full of articles about good games). Take breaks from online gaming or try other genres. Have some chamomile tea . If you have friends that annoy you all the time, I advise you to limit your communication with them as much as possible.
Conclusion.
These are all the recommendations that I wanted to give you in this blog, I hope you have emphasized something important for yourself and my message will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, if you ask me, then yes, I myself adhere to these recommendations, the most difficult thing happens with the wrong food, but I try and you try :
