Today, no one argues that esports is a very successful and, what is the most important, prospective industry. Besides what we used to call video games, it is equal to and even bigger than regular sports in terms of audience, coverage, and scale. This is a full sport with its sportsmen, tournaments, fans, coaches, victories, and losses. To feel it, you must watch an esports tournament and dive into an incredible driving atmosphere.
The increased interest in the rapidly developing esports has raised questions about health in this discipline. Since the branch is relatively young and age limits are minimal, there is a question about how esports impacts the health state of sportsmen, especially young people and children. Usually, parents are interested in positive and negative factors that influence health. However, participants of games and professional sportsmen also can’t ignore the impact of this branch on health.
Like in any other sphere, including sports, excessive redundancy positively impacts achieving certain results and has negative effects.
The sphere develops so rapidly that esports can’t stay aside from various scientific studies. For example, scientists focus on studying the physical and psychological health of people who are fond of this sphere.
Let’s have a look at positive and negative factors of influence on health, results of some studies, and also recommendations on following rules, which allow gamers to improve their health.
Positive impact on health
Studies made by the neurobiologist Daphne Bavelier confirm that action video games have a positive impact on the brain. Such games stimulate the area of the brain, which is associated with a wide range of abilities – attention, memory, motor skills, eyesight, and also strategic planning. The multi-tasking skill when doing a few tasks simultaneously is developing in such aspects.
Also, studies have demonstrated that esportsmen have a better-developed complex visual-motor reaction than those who do not play video games. This is due to the higher reflex arc excitation rate. In addition, the experiment was done on a hundred people, so professional gamers have a better reaction to the change of a visual stimulus.
Besides the reaction, the positive impact is also made on eyesight. Despite the general misconception that video games harm it, the study made by the non-commercial fund TED states the opposite. Shooter players have a sharp vision for a longer time than regular people. In this genre, esportsmen notice more details and recognize objects quicker. In addition, following sharp movements trains eye muscles.
Another key skill is analytical thinking. In esports, you need to predict the opponent’s actions, plan tactics, and many others. Therefore, it brings you to great analytical work, which significantly develops your thinking.
The scientists of the University of Limerick, in partnership with the researchers of the company Logitech, have found a positive impact on psychological health and published it in the JMIR Serious magazine.
According to the research results, esports games are an easy and effective way of dealing with mental health symptoms. Thirty minutes of playing per day facilitate the course of the disease. Video games of different genres help to socialize, deal with feelings of loneliness and mood swings, improve cognitive function, alleviate the symptoms of dyslexia, and increase the sensation of pleasure.
Negative impact when abused
The study made by the Froböse group is interesting; it has analyzed the health state of 1200 esportsmen. The results demonstrate that esportsmen face regular physiological stress, and esports is equal to real sports in terms of physical activity.
An esportsman does 400 actions per minute on average, moving eyes and hands incredibly quickly. Heart rate is 120-180 beats per minute, which is equal to the loads on a driver. The maximum level of fatigue is achieved after 2-3- hours of play. That is why professional esportsmen do not practice more than 3-4 hours a day.
Important safety aspects are also connected with the organization of workspaces for esportsmen. It is worth noting that even the best gaming chairs can’t prevent you from sitting in the wrong sitting position. In the long term, it leads to posture curvature and pressure on the joints. In its turn, this leads to the deterioration of brain power and compression of discs.
Besides, a hand, which holds a computer mouse, frequently suffers. A disease was called tunnel syndrome, and it is considered to be an esports injury. This hand suffers from pain, weakness, swelling, and burning. It makes computer gaming a tough challenge. You can find out the actual esports news on https://egw.news. Including the news about the players’ professional injuries.
Ironically, amateurs who use the principle “the more, the better” are in the biggest danger.
Recommendations on leveling negative impacts
Speaking about a workspace. To avoid such injuries, you should have an appropriate approach to organizing the workspace. Besides, you will have to follow a few simple rules:
- A chair must be high-backed;
- Feet should be on the floor and there has to be a distance of 5 cm between the calves;
- It is important to adjust the height of the armrests so that there is a straight line between the elbow and the wrist;
- It is important to adjust the height and brightness of the monitor correctly.
Regarding the regime of the day. Sleeping more than 8 hours a day is recommended to recover from the loads connected with esports fully. Also, eating healthy and energetic food is advised to recover faster and increase your performance.
And also breaks should be made. All this is followed at big CSGO events, which can be proved during live broadcasts. Such advice will help to avoid health issues, which are typical for esports.
And the most important thing, as in any other sport, is every day practicing, but it is important to balance your life and, besides esports, you should dedicate enough time to studying, resting, and moral development.
