Video games and sleep • Problems and solutions

What if Snorlax was right to sleep so much? What if sleep was one of the keys to one day becoming the best player? Would you be willing to sleep more to win all the challenges?

We all know it: sleep is essential for good health . In the gamer, the sustained pace of training can encroach on his rest cycle. According to work published by American scientists, seven out of 10 gamers sleep poorly. These sleep problems cause adverse effects on our body and our gaming performance.

Knowing how to put your activity on hold is essential but it is not always easy, especially when you want to become the best.

We've been there, a few years of experience have allowed us to integrate the right methods to find a restful sleep synonymous with better performance during our gaming sessions. Ready to know everything about sleep, its mysteries and the secret of all its powers?

In this article :

 

• Sleep: why do we need to recover
• Video games against sleep: explanations
• Tips and tricks for sleeping well

Sleep, the best regeneration potion

You probably remember your mother telling you: "If you don't go to bed, I'll confiscate your console!" » .

How annoying was she, huh? However, mothers are often right. Sleeping well is essential for a player of your level.

And you know why ? Because a good night allows:

• Avoid behavioral problems

There's nothing worse than insomnia to totally bug you. A bad night is sometimes enough to ruin your day (migraine, cold, muscle aches) but also your mood (depression, impatience, feverishness, uncontrolled anger). The long term effects can be devastating.

Losing your cool is not a good thing when you have to play as a team, always keep a steely mind against your opponents because they will have no mercy for you.

Bad sleep also causes moments of daytime drowsiness… imagine if you fell asleep in the middle of a game of Overwatch : not sure that your team wants to keep you!

• To avoid losing your reflexes

Sleeping little or badly has a direct effect on your game performance. First, a brain that works in slow motion is a brain that will not have the same reaction time as usual.

According to data from the National Sleep Foundation , 6 hours or less of sleep per night increases the risk of a traffic accident threefold. This is due to reduced reflexes, lack of eye-steering wheel coordination and the risk of drowsiness.

Yes, if your brain is tired, we won't give much of your skin on a Mario Kart race. And, your competitors will make short work of your sleeping little face!

• To keep seeing clearly

If you don't get enough sleep, your eyesight will be so smoky that you'll feel like you're in the Mist universe. You will see fog everywhere around you!

Joking aside, you should know that lack of sleep affects the quality of your eyesight. Your side vision will decrease and your eyes will start to show signs of weakness which will have a direct effect on your game performance.

Your ocular system also needs to rest so that your visual acuity regains all its capacities and that you can continue to slaughter your competitors with all your might.

The practice of video games has brought its share of new behaviors in many individuals, children or adults.

Pro gaming is a profession that can have consequences on the quality of sleep. It is interesting to know what repercussions video games can have on your sleep cycle.

• Video games as an energy boost

Naturally, faced with the dynamics of a game, our brain applies itself to remaining concentrated in order to produce the reflexes necessary to stop the "hadouken!" by Ryu in Street Fighter. The act of playing stimulates the production of certain substances which will cause certain sensations, emotions and actions on our body.

When you win, lose, or close to the highest score, your brain releases an arousal neurotransmitter: dopamine . This substance plays a role in your day-night rhythm. To be able to fall asleep, dopamine needs to be in lesser amounts, otherwise your brain will stay in attack mode…until it calms down again and that can take a long time if you're just coming out of a wild game.

• Blue light, the sworn enemy of sleep

We regularly talk about it here: blue light is harmful to your eyes. This artificial luminosity of our screens is the great adversary of sleep. It's his Ganondorf, his Bowser, his Sephiroth .

This light acts on several levels:

On the one hand, it slows down the production of melatonin , a hormone essential for synchronizing the sleep/wake cycle of our body.

On the other hand, it gives the impression to our psyche that we are always in the middle of the day.

You should know that there are two types of blue light:

• Blue-violet light: it is the most harmful for the health of the eye. It is these rays that cause age-related macular degeneration. You have to protect yourself as much as possible.

• Blue-turquoise light : it is this artificial luminosity that acts as a real stimulus for awakening. It brings energy during the day but it is necessary to avoid being exposed to it when night falls.

Sleep is one of the best natural remedies we have to get our bodies back into working order, both mentally and physically.

When you spend long hours playing, your body receives different signals that can disrupt your sleep cycle.

Added to this are new behaviors, such as playing late at night, which can alter the quality of your sleep and have real repercussions on your mental state.

• Have a plan

Planning your hours of play and training is a great way to organize your gaming activity. This allows you to know when to agree break times, moments of relaxation, meal breaks but also and above all, to avoid disturbing your sleep rhythm.

The Horus-X team offers you a small pro gamer schedule to adapt according to your preferences:

• Wake up call - 7:30 a.m.
• Sports / Fitness - 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
• Breakfast and shower - 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
• Training - 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• Lunch - 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Training - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Break - 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Training - 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Dinner - 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Training - 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Relaxing activity - 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
• Sleep - 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. (to guarantee you 8 hours of sleep)

• Don't play too late at night

Screens and light sources give off blue light, the intensity of which completely disrupts our biological cycle.

We recommend that you stop all video game activity and the use of devices with bright screens one to two hours before bedtime. Instead, read a book or review your notes and game strategies that your coach has asked you to memorize.

Not playing at night allows your brain to rebalance its hormonal balance by producing the melatonin needed to trigger your body's rest process.

In case you decide to play, your brain will release this other hormone, dopamine, which will keep you awake and reduce your sleep time... So the next day, it will be you, the zombie that you were eliminating the night before in Resident Evil.

• Gaming glasses to protect your performance

Wearing goggles / gaming glasses is a very effective method to prevent the harmful effects of blue light. Thanks to high-tech frames, the lenses will absorb a large amount of this light to minimize their effects on your body.

A good pair of gaming glasses means choosing the best combo: protecting your eyes from fatigue, avoiding disruption of your sleep cycle due to screen light and ensuring long-term eye and physical health. term. And therefore perform at the top level in all circumstances.

• Consult a sleep doctor

If you're having really bad trouble falling asleep, jumping from one insomnia to another every night, then you should see an expert. It is the best solution to follow a therapy with targeted recommendations to find both soft and complete nights which are the key to find performances worthy of the name.

Our community manager sums it all up for you with his legendary charisma:

Ultimately, for a gamer, good sleep should be as important as good nutrition. Quality sleep is the best way to get all of your life bars up.

To summarize, bad nights rest involves:

- problems concentrating, loss of your reflexes and mood swings

- impaired vision, eyes that tire more quickly in addition to moments of drowsiness

- repercussions on your rest cycle and harmful effects on your body and eyes

There are effective solutions to ensure restful sleep:

- Follow a schedule to structure your day and your hours of rest

- Protect yourself against blue light with gaming glasses

- Avoid playing video games one to two hours before bedtime