The gaming community needs to be aware of the importance of getting up and moving during video game play, staying active when not gaming, and doing active stretches regularly. This is important for all gamers no matter what competitive level (i.e., rank) or age. Gamers need to be aware of how long they are sitting. Parents/guardians also need to pay attention to how long children is continuously sitting while gaming. Physical activity is important for all. Not only can staying active while playing video games improve gaming performance, but it will also help improve physical health and reduce chances for injury or other health problems.

Esports is organized competitive video gaming (Jenny et al., 2017). Within collegiate esports, players can practice as much as three to four hours a day with their club team and then go practice more individually outside of organized practice sessions (Jenny et al., 2017). In rare cases, individuals that sit for long durations, such as esports players (or truck drivers), can incur career ending injuries like deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot that can form with lack of movement (DiFrancisco-Donoghue et al., 2019).

To prevent these injuries, there are several exercises that esports players should do for proper physical health. To maintain a healthy physical activity level, after clearance from a medical provider, healthy adults should attain 150 minutes (about 2 and a half hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity each week and at least 2 days of muscle strengthening activity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Furthermore, gamers can perform better after physical activity, likely from improved cognition and warming up the muscles from increased blood flow to the body (McNulty et al., 2023). For example, DiFrancisco-Donoghue and colleagues (2021) found that a 6-minute walk in the middle of a 2-hour gaming session helped improve cognition in gamers. A general recommendation is the 20-20-20 rule, which is every 20 minutes, look away from the screen and focus your vision on something greater than 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This can reduce eye strain, a common esports-related injury.

Before, during, and after gaming there are specific exercises recommended for better health. For example, doing an anti-sitting exercise, hand exercises, and total body movement is a solid way to get ready for gaming (1HP, n.d p.11.). Example exercises include total body movement and small muscle movements, especially for the hands, wrists, and shoulders for gamers.

It is also recommended to take a break after each game. During the break, anti-headache exercises might include leaning forward and moving your head side to side slowly. Moreover, stretches that aim to work hard to stretch regions like the thoracic spine, which is hard to mobilize, should be targeted (1HP, n.d.). A foam roller for the back and legs could be utilized. In addition, after gaming it is recommended to do hand and wrist exercises, such as pushing and pulling the wrist slowly. All these exercises can help gamers maintain physical movement intermittently during gaming sessions and help reduce the chances for muscle stiffness.

Flexibility is also important for gamers. Gamers can experience back problems and stiff necks if their muscles are tight, and they do not stretch. For example, stretching the hip muscles and abdominal muscles can help create a healthy lower back (Bailey, 2023) “Overall, tight muscles can cause poor posture and increase the risk of injury with movement” (Bailey, 2023, p.2).

In sum, the importance of movement and physical activity is clear. Gamers need to move and stretch during long-duration gaming sessions and take extra caution to maintain good posture while avoiding major injuries to improve their health. There are several online videos for yoga/stretching and short esports-specific exercise videos for players, such as this video. Esports

players do not need to leave the room to maintain physical activity. So, gamers, get up and move as exercise will help you physically and mentally.

Note

Note: Mark Wilbur is a Junior Leadership major from Stow, Ohio at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (SRU). He is a student in Dr. Seth Jenny’s “Current Issues in Esports Health and Society” course in the Department of Exercise Science at SRU.

References 1HP. (n.d.). A quick guide to health in gaming: smarter, faster, better. https://1-hp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Smarter-Faster-Better.pdf

Bailey, A. (2023, August 29). Why is flexibility important? Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/why-is-flexibility-important-7567252

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 2). How much physical activity do adults need? https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

DiFrancisco-Donoghue, Joanne, et al. (2019). Managing the health of the esport athlete: An integrated health management model. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 5(1), e000467. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000467

DiFrancisco-Donoghue, J., Jenny, S. E., Douris, P. C., Ahmad, S., Yuen, K., Hassan, T., Gan, H., Abraham, K., & Sousa, A. (2021). Breaking up prolonged sitting with a 6-minute walk improves executive function in women and men esports players: A randomized trial. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(3), e00118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001118

Jenny, S., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2017). Virtual(ly) athletes: Where esports fit within the definition of “sport”. Quest, 69(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2016.1144517

McNulty, C., Jenny, S. E., Leis, O., Poulus, D., Sondergeld, P., & Nicholson, M. (2023). Physical exercise and performance in esports players: An initial systematic review. Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, 1(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2022-0014

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media (including Mark Wilbur, the author of this post) and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

Pair this post with the following:

Health and Video Gaming: What about it? by Hallie Raabe

The Line Between Esports and Gaming Addiction by Michelina Ponziani

The Relation Between Esports/Gaming and Increased Sleep Disturbances by Danessa Allison

Teacher and Stress Reliever: From Sonic to Valorant by Joshua Peters

The Dangers of Energy Drink Sponsorship in Esports by Christian Durban

The Esports Education Playbook: Empowering Every Learner Through Inclusive Gaming by Aviles, Isaacs, Lion-Bailey & Lubinsky

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