A few days ago, an 18 year old Chinese gamer died after 40 straight hours of playing Blizzard’s Diablo III. While Diablo III has been out for months, this young man apparently rented a run at a private Internet cafe in Taiwan to take part in his gaming session. After being woken by an employee, he stood up and took a few steps before collapsing. This is not the first time this year a similar fate met a gamer.
In February, a 23 year old died after a session of League of Legends. The year before, a 30 year old gamer passed away after a three day gaming binge where he did not eat, sleep or go to the bathroom. While this trend seems to take place in the highly addicted areas of Asia where Internet usage is paid for in increments of time and limited by the government, it seems that more and more health-related issues and deaths are being reported due to marathon sessions.
How to Avoid Getting Addicted to Your Video Game of Choice
When you decide to invest in video or computer games, you have to recognize that it is extremely easy to get addicted without even realizing it. The more you learn about the game, the more you play and even the more you interact with others in a game, the quicker it is that the game begins part of your life. When this happens, it can be easy to get upset when something goes wrong in-game, this is when you need to start realizing you are becoming addicted.
When you first begin playing a game, you want to set limits for yourself. This includes when you will play, how long you will play and a set time when you will walk away. If you find yourself going over these limits, you need to find a way to separate yourself from the game for a bit so you can regain control. Without setting these limits, it is even easier to immerse yourself in an addictive environment.
How to Stop Developing Bad Habits While Gaming
There are three things you must do whenever you game to avoid developing bad habits that foster gaming addiction:
- Hydrate
- Do not snack
- Get up every once in awhile
When you get invested in a video or computer game, it is important to stay hydrated. This means drinking water, not soda, tea or any other type of drink. Stay away from alcoholic beverages as this can cause embarrassing moments in game and serve only to dehydrate you. By utilizing a water bottle, you can even measure how much water you are drinking and within a few weeks, you will see a difference in how you feel overall. If you already are not getting enough water, you will be amazed at how that habit changes from drinking it while gaming.
Whenever you have a gaming session, you do not want to snack during it. This can lead to endless calorie consumption and weigh gain that is not healthy. If you are hungry, use that as a moment to walk away for awhile from your game for awhile to have a meal. Do not ever eat meals while gaming, again this leads to empty calories.
Depending on how long you plan on sitting in front of the computer or television, you want to get up, walk around and even stretch a little. One of the biggest problems with gaming for a long time is the lack of circulation, muscle movement and the intense concentration the eyes require to focus on a screen. By getting up and moving around, this helps keep your body active and your eyes from developing issues from staring at the same images over and over.
Do You Need to Step Away From The Console or Computer?
Anyone reading this post should take a good, hard look at their gaming habits. If you feel you are playing games too often, perhaps it is time to look for a new hobby, habit or activity. Take a class at your local library, join an intramural sports team or even just go for a walk outside for awhile. Be evaluating what you could be doing instead of what you are doing during your gaming time, you may just find your time spent better doing something else.
While deaths from video game playing are not as frequent as the media makes it seem, you never know when you might be in too deep. Take the time to determine if you are, and if so, dig yourself out of that gaming addiction before it is too late.
