Why eSports professionals need to take care of their health
In the last few months I’ve been following the eSports area for a bit. Mostly out of interest, because when I was in middle school, I used to play Counter Strike (back in the 1.2 and 1.4 days!) and belonging to a gamer clan was every gamer’s dream.
So I’ve watched eSports and the entire streaming industry mature and grow.
What still baffles me though, is that although gamers have become professionals at what they do, their habits don’t always represent that. I’m talking mostly about food and movement.
Go to any professional eSports event and you will see sugary (or non-sugary, but still bad) energy drinks, maybe fast food and long hours.
While I appreciate the long and deliberate practice sessions, that are needed to put you on the top of your game (no pun intended) I think we have to become serious about our health, too.
The phenomen of South Koreans dying because of little sleep and too much gaming might be an isolated case, but perform eSports on a professional level for long and you will run into health issues if you’re not taking care of your mind and body.
In this series I’d like to explore why food and movement, as well as appropriate rest is important to a long and prosperous eSports career.
If there are specific topics you’d like me to talk about please feel free to contact me.
Why we need to move
Your body was made to move. But you’re moving less. I know it. I see you sitting on your couch. Ok, I don’t actually see you sitting but I’m assuming you’re sitting right now and reading this.
See our bodies, over a long evolutionary period have been adapted to move and move a lot. Simply because moving back then meant surviving.
Think about it: Whether it is gathering and hunting for food or getting away from predators, you need to be able to climb, jump and run etc. just to be able to get out of harms away and feed yourself.
Nowadays, we don’t have these problems: Our food is served to us, we pay the cashier and sit at a table, eating while no predator is trying to eat us or our food.
On a daily basis, we don’t need to hunt for berries or nuts, because we have our groceries at home (which is also sheltered by the way) and we can cook whatever and however we want.
Think about it, our bodies have adapted for nature, but our world has adapted to our comfort. It sounds good on paper but brings some problems with it.
Now how is that an issue for you or other eSports pro’s? Simple: Your movement is limited mainly by your fingers/arms and your eyes, everything else more or less has to stay still.
It is and isn’t your fault, that’s the bad part. But it’s entirely in your hand, that’s the good part!
Look at this image:
We have stabilized feet, through a foot arch, a long achilles tendon, a narrow waist with a large hip joint and knee joints and a big gluteus. All these things contribute to the fact that our bodies are walking and running (or moving) machines.
If you’ve seen a primate walk or run, you see that they swing from side to side to walk, which is very inefficient and needs a lot of energy.
You wouldn’t be able to run for long hours if you’re body would be shaped like that. But with our body, we can easily walk and jump for hours!
So it’s pretty clear that your body was made for movement. But does moving actually have positive effects on your energy levels?
“In a study published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics in 2008, University of Georgia researchers found that inactive folks who normally complained of fatigue could increase energy by 20% while decreasing fatigue by as much as 65% by simply participating in regular, low-intensity exercise.”
“Contrary to popular belief, exercising doesn’t make you tired — it literally creates energy in your body. Your body rises up to meet the challenge for more energy by becoming stronger,” says nutritionist Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a nutrition advisor for the Journey for Control diabetes program.”
(Source: Exercise for Energy)
Now of course this is just one study and you might be asking, how is this relevant for me? Simple: The more energy you have during your training and tournament session, the more focused and aware you’ll be.
Can you see how this can give you an edge over other gamers?
Besides the energy and focus argument, there is another, and in my opinion more important point: The balance that movement can give you, can protect you from injuries and problems with your arms and hands. I’m thinking carpal tunnel or repetitive strain injuries.
Movement can help you balance those things out. How? I’ll show you in this series.
Food is just as important
In the beginning of this article I mentioned the food and drink situation at current eSports events. While I think energy drinks and soda have their place when you’re out and enjoying yourself, it shouldn’t be around in an arena where you’re competitively performing against other individuals.
Why?
Simple: You are what you eat and you are what you put into your body. If you only put chemically created drinks and food that your grand parents wouldn’t recognize into your body, you won’t feel and perform as good as you’d like.
Of course athletes are eating healthy for different reasons, but think about this: You’re an athlete, too.
Your body and muscles aren’t directly your main component of your performance, but still your hands, arms and eyes are working just as hard as any tennis player.
Your brain is performing at a level, that any chess player can appreciate.
So why wouldn’t you treat your body and mind like the machine, or rather the asset you have?
If you want to read more on this series and stay healthy while gaming professionally, click here.
Food can play an immense role on your productivity and your focus, in certain situations even more so than movement, so it is something that eSports professionals have to think about.
In this series we’ll dive into different strategies on how you can eat healthy, even when you’re busy and using the hacks that I provide to my clients over at bitehype.
It’s not as hard as you think, once you get the hang of it and I’m pretty sure it will give you a competitive edge, simply because it isn’t wide spread thinking yet.
Even when it’s common knowledge to move in between training sessions and eat healthy, there will always be different things you can do to be better (meditation, supplementation, rest, etc).
Conclusion
So my goal with this first article was to make you aware of the fact that food and movement plays a big role in the eSports world, but a lot of people haven’t realized it yet.
I’m predicting that in a few years from now professional players will take care of their health differently than they do today, even in some cases mimicking professional athletes who use mainly their body to perform.
In the future, I’ll talk in detail about certain movement hacks and food hacks, so that you can still spend most of your time doing what you do best: Gaming for a living.
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