Some of the most common negative effects of video games include:
Poor sleep hygiene
Physical health atrophy
Exhaustion
Dehydration
Obesity and heart problems
Aggression
Lack of motivation
Depression
Suicidal thoughts
Social anxiety
Poor emotional regulation
The bad effects of video games can impact your physical and mental health, or often times both. It’s essential to understand that each person may experience symptoms differently but nonetheless gaming disorder is known to produce a range of symptoms as described here.
As with most addictions, excessive use of video games is often the reason you experience these symptoms. The more you play, the more you neglect other key aspects of your life: your social life, your career, your family, your mental well-being, and your physical health.
We can split the harmful effects of playing hours and hours of video games every day into two main categories: negative physical effects and negative mental/emotional effects.
How Gaming Affects Physical Health
Spending hours every day sitting in front of a computer playing video games can have severe implications for your physical health.
When you spend most of your time sitting in front of a screen absorbed in games, it is easy to forget to eat regular meals, drink water, exercise, and take care of your overall health.
As Matt, a sufferer of gaming disorder who overcame it, shares:
I was tired of playing games for 18-24 hours straight from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon and then 16 hours on Sundays. I was tired of going home after work and playing for 6 hours, and not sleeping. I was tired of feeling numb afterward and turning to porn to feel a little more alive. I was tired of not eating three meals each day.”
Some of the most common negative physical effects of gaming addiction include:
Poor sleep hygiene
Dehydration
Physical health atrophy
Poor concentration
Heart problems
Obesity
And these negative physical consequences symptoms of gaming will also start affecting your mental health. It’s important to note that both are interconnected.
Poor Sleep Hygiene
Inadequate sleep is a common phenomenon for gamers. For example, take Jack from Michigan, who said the following of his sleep habits:
“Looking back, it’s pretty clear I had a problem. I started sleeping less and found myself not enjoying life as much. As a result, I became depressed and anxious.”
If you neglect sleep every day, it will eventually carry over to other parts of your life. You won’t be able to stay focused in other areas of your life like school, work, or even everyday life, which will inevitably affect your performance in those areas of your life.
Hours of gaming daily often result in less sleep, especially if you play later at night or with gamer friends from different time zones. It’s easy to play “just one more game,” which results in “just one less hour of sleep.” Excessive gaming can lead to poor sleep hygiene and other adverse physical health effects.
Sleep deprivation also leads to impaired memory and relationship stress, significantly diminishing your overall quality of life.
Adequate sleep is essential for overall health. Depending on your age, at a minimum, experts advise you to sleep between 7 to 9 hours per day, but if you play games well into the night, this is nearly impossible. It can be challenging to function normally when you only sleep a couple of hours or do not sleep at all.
Dehydration and Poor Diet
When you play games for several hours straight, you forget to eat, drink, and keep yourself healthy. Without the proper nutrients and water, your body will not be able to function correctly.
You’ll experience headaches from dehydration, and a poor diet will lead to muscle loss. Long-term, a poor diet may even lead to more profound negative health consequences, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, and in extreme cases, cancer.
If you forget to eat three meals a day or drink at least 2-3 liters of water due to your gaming habits, you will experience harmful side effects.
Physical Health Atrophy, Muscle Atrophy, Obesity, Heart Problems
The less you move and exercise, the more your body will start to suffer. Typical examples are weight gain, muscle loss, stiff joints, and poor posture.
Regularly sitting in the same position for the entire day can have other severe consequences for your physical well-being, such as chronic headaches and neck and back problems.
Interpersonal conflict
Negative Effects of Video Games
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