It has been note that there has been a connection between the gamers gaming ‘til they drop and its impact on health. Let me post my thoughts as a stream of consciousness type post:

For starters I think people in all occupations can get stressed and suffer from ill health. I’ve had friends pass away from and survive heart attacks who work in numerous fields - including gaming. I’m a little skeptical that gaming is any more stressful than other activities - yes it can be a pressure cooker of a job - but I wonder if it’s more about the person, the way they deal with pressure, the choices that they make and the boundaries that they put around themselves etc than the occupation itself.

I can see how gamers might suffer from the impact of a lack of exercise and poor diet. Gaming can be highly addictive and the temptation to the games through meal breaks, skip opportunities to exercise and to eat poorly is no doubt there for most of us. I know until late last year my exercise routines all went completely out the window and I began to put on weight.

Lack of sleep is another common thing that many of us as gamers fall into the trap of. I know of quite a few others who suffer from insomnia as a result of gaming right up until bedtime and then not being able to ’switch off’.

Another health related aspect of gaming is that I’ve come across a large number of gamers lately who suffer from the effects of sitting on poor chairs all day every day. I know for the first few years of my own gaming ‘career’ that I had this problem from sitting on a kitchen chair and then a poor office chair all day. More recently with an investment in a ergonomic chair my back’s been a lot better.

We need to be healthy gamers. Our body is our own capital, without it, we’ll not enjoy the world of games. We need to play moderately.