Why Gamers Should Care About Their Health

We’ve talked at length before about the importance of setting up a great gaming environment for League of Legends, and it goes beyond peripherals, monitors, and hardware for your computer. There are more gamers in the world than ever before, and as the hobby continues to grow, so will health issues associated with the sedentary lifestyle that accompanies hardcore gaming. If you’re sitting in your chair for more than 2 hours at a time, you’re putting yourself at risk for a variety of different issues. It’s important that you take steps to ensure your health is going to be solid down the road, otherwise, you’re looking at a world of hurt.

Dr. Levi Harrison has a channel on YouTube that caught my attention recently. He goes into detail about what you can do to minimize the impact of your favorite hobby upon your health, and he’s got an active podcast which talks about similar information. We’ve all heard medical doctors and specialists lecture us before, but what makes Dr. Harrison’s perspective different is that it is aimed at office workers and gamers, and he’s put out a lot of videos on the subject of staying healthy while gaming.

If your health declines, you won’t be able to enjoy your hobby in the same way. At worst, you could be shaving tons of years off of your life expectancy by remaining sedentary. It’s good to take a break from the computer, stretch, and walk around for fifteen minutes. Find any reason you can to get up, whether it’s walking down to the corner store to get a coffee or doing chores around the house. If you’ve ever gotten a headache, eye fatigue, neck pain, wrist pain, or any kind of joint discomfort from playing games, you know what I’m talking about when I say it’s important to stay mobile.

Dr. Levi Harrison’s latest video covers neck, posture and alignment. It’s worth watching it on YouTube if you want to learn a little more about finding a comfortable setup at your desk that helps you avoid back pain, discomfort, and long-term joint issues. While this might not be the most interesting topic we’ve ever covered here on the Eloboost blog, it is definitely one of the most important. Almost every top-tier gamer I know puts a lot of thought into ergonomics and into creating a comfortable gaming environment, and you should as well. It may not be the sexiest thing ever, but it’s worth the investment, the research, and the time.

Check out Dr. Harrison’s videos on YouTube to learn more about what you can do to avoid impacting your health negatively as a result of your hobby. If you’re looking for updated information, take a look at his podcast. He’s a great guy, and it’s clear that he really cares about helping gamers in the community. Take five minutes out of your no doubt busy day to take a look at his video and learn ways to minimize discomfort and joint damage.