This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. The information contained on this guide does not establish, nor does it imply, doctor-patient relationship. I do not offer this information for diagnostic purposes. A diagnosis must not be assumed based on the information provided.

Gaming is the not so new frontier for billions of people. Yes, BILLIONS. With nearly 3 billion people playing video games worldwide, gaming is officially mainstream. Whether you play casually on the weekends or for multi-hour-long marathons in the middle of the night, your gaming habits can have an impact on your health.

Living a healthy lifestyle while video gaming can be a challenge but is totally possible with some planning. Here are a few tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while enjoying your favorite video games.

Many people still believe warm-ups include static stretching (or stretch and hold positions) to “get loose” before doing any type of physical activity. However, static stretching will decrease your performance.That’s right holding stretches prior to (or even during) gaming may decrease muscle activation and contractile velocity making you slower.

Latency for any reason is a nightmare, but the good news is that you can prevent movement latency simply by following a dynamic warm-up routine.Our gamer warm-up is a routine consisting of dynamic movements that prepare your body for healthy gaming specifically, your fingers, hands, wrists, forearms, and even your eyes! There are 10 movements to warm up your hands and 3 eye movements to warm up the small muscles that control your eyes.

Gaming for hours means sitting for hours, and sitting increases your risk for postural aches and pains. Prolonged sitting over time increases your risk for muscular imbalance and joint degeneration of the hips, spine, and shoulders.

However, your posture is the foundation of healthy gaming, and you can effectively reduce the risk for all these issues by correcting your posture sitting upright and not leaning forward, keeping your shoulders back and down, and keeping your head back with your chin tucked.

Posture - is how you carry your body while sitting or standing
Ergonomics - has more to do with comfort and efficiency while working

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE?

• Purchasing an ergonomic gaming or office chair.
  
• Adjusting the chair so that the headrest straightens the neck and supports the head.
  
• Changing the lumbar support in the chair to support the lower back.
  
• Adjusting the height of the chair so the legs are at a 90-degree angle and the feet are flat on the floor.
  
• Positioning the TV or monitor about 2 feet away from the eyes with the middle of the screen at eye level. This way, they can see without straining or having to tilt the head or neck.
  
• Sitting up straight with the shoulders pushed back and down in a natural and comfortable posture (as opposed to slouching forward).
  
• Avoiding crossing the legs or folding the legs up onto the chair.
  
• Keeping the controller, mouse, or keyboard in a position where the wrists are straight as opposed to arching the wrists up or down.
  
• Skipping a headset or wearing one that doesn’t cause discomfort to the head or ears.

BENEFITS OF HAVING A PROPER POSTURE
Good posture and proper equipment can help you perform better and avoid or lessen the risk of injury and acquiring certain medical conditions such as:

• Eyestrain and fatigue.
  
• De Quervain’s tenosynovitis/radial styloid tenosynovitis/gamer’s thumb.[www.mayoclinic.org]
  
• Hand cramps and injuries.
  
• Wrist conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.
  
• Tendonitis in the forearms.
  
• Shoulder stiffness.
  
• Back and neck pain.

Gamers should eat snacks that are healthy as they consume a heavy chunk of snacks in a day. Sometimes snacks make it up for their entire meal! Therefore, Healthy snacks include food items that are rich in necessary vitamins and minerals which a human body can't prepare on its own. And you have to consume it to balance the number of healthy nutrients in your diet.

Most gamers don't realize how important it can be to stay active and healthy while playing their favorite games. The after-burn effect is real and so is the fact that gamers need to eat well every day or risk dehydration, stomach issues, and muscle fatigue. The following list includes healthy snacks any gamer can easily add to their daily routines to avoid health complications.

FOODS TO CONSUME BY GAMERS
1. Nuts
All kinds of nuts hold significant nutritional benefits. But some nuts are rich in protein which proves to be an essential source of fuel for our body. Being a gamer despite munching over oily or sugar-coated junk food you can replace them with nuts like Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, and hazelnuts carrying the highest protein content.

2. Protein Shakes
Many gamers have a habit of gulping down liters of energy drinks in a single day. Some even get addicted! How about you easily replace that with a healthy drink & avoid overloading your body with excess processed sugar? Protein shakes are not that bad if you know the correct composition! It is a filling and healthy snack for any gamer.

3. Pita Bread + Hummus Or Oatmeal
If you are one of those gamers who gets super hungry but munching down usual snacks like potato chips don’t bring you anything good. Then indulging in pita bread and hummus may just be the perfect gaming snack for you! Warm, cushion'y' pita bread dipped in hummus, which is easily available in a wide assortment of toppings including red pepper, jalapeno, caramelized onion & more definitely satisfies your taste buds.

4. Veggies with Different Dips
Some potato chip geeks might not accept pita bread or heavy oatmeal as an evening snack for gamers to eat. Worry not, if you are missing that gratifying crunch of a chip. Then instead of replacing your delicious dipping, you can exchange the chips with veggies. You still get to keep your favorite sauces & eat healthy ingredients during your snack times. That’s a win-win buddy!

5. Frozen Grapes
We understand it's super hard to cut complete sugar from your diet after all! How on Earth you can overcome the most prioritized desire for sweet foods? Hence for a sweet tooth gamer, frozen grapes are the perfect solution for healthy sweet snacks while gaming.

FOOD TO LIMIT/AVOID BY GAMERS IN GENERAL
1. Overly processed food items,
especially those that contain a dangerous level of unhealthy trans-fats, in large amounts. They lead to severe health diseases & cause inflammation.

2. Sugar-Additive Food Products
that also include items that are not sweet generally such as bread etc. Make sure to check the ingredients of your snacks before you shove it in your mouth.

3. Deep-Fried Junk Food
or such processed food items that are fried. Instead, choose baked snacks to begin your healthy snack-eating gamer lifestyle.

Sleep is arguably the most important aspect of your health & well-being. There is not one single thing more beneficial than healthy sleep habits. For healthy gaming and healthy living, we recommend 8 hours per night, every night, no questions.

Good sleep improves your brain performance, mood, and health.
Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many diseases and disorders. These range from heart disease and stroke to obesity and dementia.

THE PILLARS OF SLEEP

1. REGULARITY
Regularity is in reference to the consistency of your sleep schedule.

2. CONTINUITY
Continuity is in reference to your ability to stay asleep through the night.

3. DURATION (QUANTITY)
Recommended duration: 8 hours per night for adults

4. QUALITY
Asks "How well are you sleeping?"