Reign of Gaming

The Wellness Project: Exercising can help you Carry! 

     I want to start a new project focused on the effects of wellness.  It is a MAJOR initiative being undertaken by employers across the United States (and soon, maybe the world!) in an attempt to control rising health care costs.  But why should gamers give any care to the on-goings of big business or any of this wellness crap?  The answer is simple, it helps you at everything you do.  Including League of Legends.  Which is why I want to start a series of articles talking about the various forms of wellness and other similar health topics that relate to gamers.  Maybe at some point, we can get you to Diamond, looking better and having a pretty girl hanging out with you!   

She is a good reason to do a lot of things!

What is Wellness?

     Wellness is a business buzzword for getting healthy.  In the United States, the costs of healthcare are rising at almost 10% a year.  That is a massive increase in overall costs, making it a major concern for a lot of corporations.  Corporations reactions to the idea of wellness is many and varied, but the core concept is the same, make their employees healthy.  I know about this stuff because of my proximity to the benefits arena of businesses.  So I want to share some of what I know with you.    

     The Wellness project I am doing is something similar, but focusing more on gamers.  I do not give two s**** if my health reduces costs for my employer, but I do care if I can kick my mid lane opponents ass. If there is something I can do to improve that AND make my life better, I am all for it!   So every once in awhile, I will focus on a health topic that relates to us.  Today's topic is something you all know you should do, but if your anything like me, you prefer to sit and drink a soda to running.  

Exercise and How it Benefits you

     There are a lot of reasons to exercise, but those can be saved for another day.  The important part is, how can exercising help me win at LoL?  Well, exercising has a variety of positive mental health benefits.  Here is a quick list from the Association for Applied Sports Psychology:

1. Improved mood
2. Reduced stress as well as an improved ability to cope with stress
3. Improved self-esteem
4 .Pride in physical accomplishments
5. Increased satisfaction with oneself
6. Improved body image
7. Increased feelings of energy
8. Improved in confidence in your physical abilities
9. Decreased symptoms associated with depression

      It doesn't increase your reaction times, but those are all strong benefits before you play a game.  If you are highly stressed, exercise can reduce the stress levels to help you focus.  Improved energy speaks for itself to keep going.  Those are only two very big advantages you gain by exercising and the best part is that it doesn't take much.  According to the AASP, you only need about 10 minutes of aerobic exercise or a brief walk for improved mood.  Perhaps the best plan is to play about 2 games (an hour or so) and then walk for about 10-15 minutes, then play some more.  Here is another article that should help compound a little bit more about the mental benefits of exercise:

  http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/11272/1/Mental-Benefits-of-Exercise.html

     I found more research discussing the mental health benefits of exercising, but a lot of it was focused on the benefit it gives to help fight depression, which while I hope none of you are suffering from, isn't the goal I was shooting for.  Regardless, there are some great benefits to exercise and it does not mean you have to be running all day. 

Conclusion:

     Exercise is good.  It has a vast number of positive effects on our body and on our brains.  I highly suggest everyone keep this in mind as we marathon our favorite game.  It is especially important for us gamers as we do spend a lot of time sitting.  Now go exercise and carry!