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50 Tips and Tools for Healthy Gaming

Published on Thursday 7th 2008f August, 2008

With the new popularity of active games and gaming systems like the Wii Fit, people are more concerned than ever with healthy gaming. This includes both playing healthy games and adopting healthy gaming habits. Here, we'll take a look at how you can become a healthier gamer, and some of the tools you can use to do so.

Tips

Follow these tips for a healthier gaming experience.

  1. Support your back: Sit in a chair that offers lower back support and a natural body posture.
  2. Don't overindulge in caffeine or sugar: Avoid staying up at odd hours with chemical help.
  3. Use a light touch: Press your gaming controller buttons with a light touch so that your hands and fingers are relaxed. Also be careful of how tightly you're gripping your controller.
  4. Play active games: Opt for games that involve standing and movement as opposed to just sitting.
  5. Occasionally focus your eyes away from the screen: Protect your eyes by changing focus every 15-20 minutes.
  6. Keep your wrists straight: Follow proper wrist and finger postures by keeping your wrists straight and avoiding bending them.
  7. Recognize when you have an addiction: Be careful not to play too much or get too attached to gaming that it takes over your life.
  8. Play games outside of your house: Adopt games that go beyond video, like team sports and board games.
  9. Take breaks: Relax, stretch, and step away from games every now and then.
  10. Protect your neck: Minimize neck bending and twisting by positioning yourself or your television so that you do not have to tilt your head.
  11. Use parental controls: If you're a parent, make sure you're taking advantage of parental controls for appropriate game play.
  12. Avoid snacking: Keep chips, soda and candy out of your gaming area.
  13. Develop your non-gaming life: Be careful to not neglect your passions and responsibilities outside of gaming.
  14. Keep your distance: Sit or stand about 6 feet away from your TV, or 20-26 inches from your PC.
  15. Never play games to escape: Don't use gaming as an outlet to hide from the world.
  16. Mix things up: Play different games that require different hand and body movements to that you're not repetitively doing the same thing over and over again.
  17. Use a smaller screen: If you're worried about photosensitive epileptic seizures, play with a smaller screen.
  18. Assign a time limit: Keep yourself from going overboard by committing to stopping play at a certain interval of time.
  19. Leave your arms loose: Allow comfortable shoulder and arm postures by keeping your arms fall relaxed at your sides.
  20. Play with friends: Make gaming a social action by getting your friends involved.
  21. Play "exergames": Pick up games designed to get you moving.
  22. Always take time to relax your arms and hands: Be sure to take breaks to give your arms and hands time to stretch and recover.
  23. Minimize glare: Place your television away from windows and other light sources to cut down on glare that will cause eye strain. You can also invest in an anti-glare filter.
  24. Keep video games out of your bedroom: Don't let your games follow you around everywhere. Keep them in a designated area outside of your bedroom.
  25. Consider using glasses: If you're not already using glasses, ask your eye doctor if they'd be helpful for reducing eye strain during game play.
  26. Eat better food: Snack on healthy food for energy like fruit, nuts, protein, and vegetables.
  27. Avoid resting your palms or wrists: Promote a more proper hand posture by keeping your palms and wrists free.
  28. Play games that make you think: Avoid simply playing mindless games. Pick up titles that will keep your mind active.
  29. Stretch during loading times: Any time your game stops for loading, put down your controller and practice a few simple stretches.
  30. Let others play: If you're playing with friends, allow others to step in and play for a while so that you can recover and allow your muscles to relax.
  31. Use your TV's settings: Protect your eyes by adjusting your TV's brightness and contrast levels.
  32. Manage stress: Don't let your games make you overly frustrated or stressed. Be realistic and learn how to deal with stress from gaming. Take the stress out of buying games with this Playfirst coupon code.

Guides

These guides will give you lots of information on healthy gaming.

  1. Xbox Healthy Gaming Guide: Follow this guide from Xbox to learn about healthy gaming practices and tools you can use.
  2. Maintaining a Healthy Body and a Healthy Gaming Addiction: Read this article for suggestions you can follow to exercise while gaming.
  3. Healthy Game Snacking 101: This article takes a look at the caloric content and nutrition of different gaming snacks.

Tools

Make use of these tools to make gaming healthier.

  1. Gamer Fitness Manual: The Gamer Fitness Manual is home to a wealth of information on healthy gaming, including carpal tunnel syndrome and improving fitness.
  2. Calories Burned During Exercise: Figure out how many calories you're burning in gameplay with this resource.
  3. Entertainment Software Rating Board: Visit this site's game ratings to understand appropriate games for different age levels.
  4. Gaming4Health: This online community is completely devoted to healthy gaming.
  5. Calorie Calculator: This calculator will help you estimate the caloric value of the food you're eating.
  6. Healthy Gaming: This site is full of great information on gaming for health.

Games

Play these games to build upon your health.

  1. Wii Fit: Wii Fit is a current crowd favorite for combining video games with healthy exercise.
  2. My Weight Loss Coach: Especially designed for the Nintendo DS, My Weight Loss Coach will help you create a personalized health program for exercise and food.
  3. Guitar Hero: Playing Guitar Hero requires that you stand to play, and can be a moderate activity if you play with gusto.
  4. Wii Sports: Wii Sports offers fun and friendly workouts with sports like boxing and tennis.
  5. GameBike: Pedal away on video games with the GameBike.
  6. Brain Age: This game made for the DS is a great tool for training your mind.
  7. Kilowatt Sport: Play with this exercise machine to get fit while you're playing your favorite games.
  8. Big Brain Academy: Make learning a fun experience and give your brain some exercise with this game for the Wii and DS.
  9. Dance Dance Revolution: A rousing game of Dance Dance Revolution offers one of the most intense workouts you can get with a video game.

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