Article Table of Contents
Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses
A Chiropractor Can Help Keep You Playing
Game On!
There are precious few outlets for social interaction and pleasure during this time of social distancing due to the raging onslaught of Covid-19.
Thankfully, there are options.
The online gaming community is flourishing during this uncertain time.
Many have turned to video games for social interaction and activity as they wait for this all to pass.
Here at Arrowhead Clinic Duluth, we want you to enjoy your time as much as possible.
However, there are still precautions one should take for their health even during an activity as simple as playing a video game.
As a result we have listed 5 tips to implement for maintaining good health while gaming.
1. Practice Good Posture
Being a chiropractic clinic, one of our main concerns is ensuring that your physical body continues to function at its mechanical best.
An excellent way you can ensure this at home is to practice proper posture.
One would think this would not be too difficult while gaming.
However, you may be surprised to find how easy it is to slip into bad habits.
Firstly, sitting is bad for your back. Period.
Even with good posture, you are placing strain on your lower back in some form or another.
The best posture for gaming would be to remain standing throughout your campaign.
However, it is unlikely that everyone will adhere to this.
There are certain positions that are worse for your back than others.
Many gamers, when in a particularly poignant part of their game tend to lean forward, bend their back, and resting their elbows not their knees.
This is not good posture.
It places unnecessary strain on your spine.
Another typical default position is to slouch against the rear of your chair or couch, bending your back in the opposite direction.
Once again, this places pressure on your back.
If you must sit while playing, try to keep your spine as straight as possible for optimum efficiency and nervous system communication.
2. Take Breaks
As previously mentioned it is never a good idea to sit for an extended period of time without resting your back.
This is still the case while gaming.
However, there are other reasons why it may be beneficial for one to take a break while playing.
More than likely you are playing your game in a dark room and staring at a bright screen.
Taking an opportunity to stand, stretch and get away from your game will give your eyes a chance to rest without staring at a screen.
There are other measures one can do to protect their eyes, but we will get to that later.
A brief break to rest your back and get your blood pumping a bit certainly can not hurt your gaming efforts.
Why not take a brief break to go to the kitchen and make a healthy snack?
Or maybe you can take the opportunity to attend to the needs of a pet or family member.
It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are giving your body a chance to move in a more natural way than sitting.
Try to take a brief break for every hour you play.
3. Acquire Proper Support
It may not be terribly comfortable for a person to be sit up straight without support for an extended period of time.
That’s understandable.
Thankfully, there are efforts a person can take in order to help give their back the support that it needs.
There are specially designed cushions and seat covers that fill in the crevices in your back as you sit up straight allowing you to keep proper posture longer and thus save your back from unnecessary wear and tear.
This will allow you to play your games even longer and thus keep winning.
4. Avoid Excessive Junk Food
It is often difficult to pull yourself away from something you are enjoying for any reason.
Gaming is no different.
No one wants to take the time when they are in the middle of a particularly challenging campaign or dungeon to stop and make a nutritious meal or snack. I
t is the temptation to snag an easy grab-able such as potato chips, cookies, and sugary drinks.
It is perfectly acceptable to enjoy any of these treats in moderation.
However, excessive consumption can potentially lead to future health problems.
If you are seriously craving a snack as you proceed through a level, make an effort to grab a water bottle and an apple instead of anything processed.
Your body will function much more efficiently with the proper fuel powering it.
5. Wear Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Depending on your game, you may need to provide the utmost attention to everything occurring on the screen in front of you.
However, this can potentially be detrimental to your eyesight.
Staring for a prolonged period of time is never a good idea, especially into a light source.
If you are gaming on a computer, a smart device, or a flat screen television, you are exposing your eyes to blue light.
If you plan on looking into this device for an extended amount of time, it may be best to invest in a precaution.
Manufacturers make blue light blocking glasses that keep you from being overexposed to blue light.
Granted some exposure to blue light is actually necessary for healthy eyes.
However, too much can lead to digital eye strain and even eventual macular degeneration.
It’s a little precaution that can potentially save your eyes on the long run.
Purchase a pair of blue light filtering glasses in order to improve your game and improve your eyesight.
A Chiropractor Can Help Keep You Playing
Taking precautions against blue light sounds much more like an ophthalmological issue as opposed to something a chiropractic clinic would be concerned about.
Frankly, that is correct.
However, what makes Arrowhead Clinic Duluth such an effective medical provider is that it cares about all aspects of your health.
We realize that all parts of the body need to work together in order for a person to function as effectively as possible.
If you find that you do develop a chiropractic concern, please pay us a visit and receive your free consultation.
We will work with you to keep you in the best possible condition to get you back out and enjoying life to the fullest.
Whether that life be in the virtual world or ours, we want it to be a great one!
No comments:
Post a Comment