Playing League of Legends or any other popular video game titles can be fun yet really frustrating at the same time. It is almost on the same level as playing traditional sports from a mental point of view. We get tired, we tend to lose our focus, and to top it all off, we end up raging when we see something wrong or do something wrong in the game.
To simply put it, Gamers would need to practice healthy habits that will improve not only their gaming sense but also their lifestyle.
So, how do we fix that? We look at these tips on how to improve our focus and mental state when gaming (In a healthy way, of course!)
Tip #1: Eat Smart
A Gamer’s diet is not supposed to be riddled with Junk Foods and Energy Drinks because, obviously, it’s unhealthy. Even though energy drinks provide buffs to your focus, the unhealthy amount of sugar and chemicals is really high, and therefore, it’s not a good way to consume it most of the time.
Here’s what you should consume instead:
- Dark Chocolate – It is not always the “leafy-green veggies” to be healthy. Eating small amounts of Dark Chocolate can significantly improve your focus because it contains a small amount of Caffeine that heightens mental alertness and Magnesium that de-stresses your body so you can feel good and have a very fair mood!
- Soya milk – This is probably one of the best replacements for energy drinks because it provides calcium that helps your heart, muscles, and nerves to function properly, and protein to keep you from getting tired easily.
- Leafy Green Vegetables and Fruits – Sometimes, eating vegetables and fruits is the way to go to be really healthy. Fruits and Vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals that greatly improve your focus, memory, and overall brain health and power.
- Water – As simple as it is, plain water just does the job. Drinking water before starting a game and even after playing a long game keeps you from feeling lightheaded and dizzy. In a way, it gives your brain enough energy for all brain functions so you can think faster and win more fights!
Tip #2: Exercise
A proper diet and a balanced workout regimen can provide high levels of energy and focus during gaming.
Almost all Pro Players follow a fitness regimen because aerobics are also crucial for gameplay. It’s like they’ve programmed their nervous system with proper responses, which therefore improves their overall speed and reaction.
Even the slightest improvements when exercising can have astonishing results in your gameplay; for example, when you play Persona 5, you’ll be able to earn more money in P5R after you finish your exercise because your mind will be more relaxed.
Exercising can help you improve these three key gameplay elements:
- Reaction Time – This is your perception of the attack or the interval between the stimulus and the beginning of the response.
- Response Time – This is the time when it takes to choose an appropriate response to the initiation of actual movement.
- Movement Speed – How fast your mind solves getting out of the way of trouble.
After knowing the key gameplay elements, these physical exercises should help you in achieving the desired achievements.
Examples of Exercise
- Jogging – This will help you figure out when to exert energy and how to manage it so you can jog at longer distances. In a gameplay element, it improves your reaction time and movement speed.
- Weights – Lifting weights mostly improves your physical work capacity and daily living activities. In a gameplay element, it improves your response time. For example, Timing your Flash to cast abilities on an enemy that is trying to escape.
- Team Sports – Playing Team Sports like Basketball and Football generally helps you on how to communicate with the rest of your team. It has the overall gameplay elements that are crucial for the team’s victory and maintaining healthy relationships with your friends as well!
Tip #3: Taking a break
Playing popular eSports titles can be quite demanding both physically and mentally. It’s good to take breaks most of the time after every hour of finishing a game.
The reason why taking a break is important is that you need to refresh and regenerate. Not doing so will just increase the fatigue for your brain and your eyes, which leads to loss of focus and eventually losing a game because of the lack of adequate performance.
Tip #4: Proper Mentality
Climbing the competitive ladder can be sometimes frustrating (or maybe even most of the time). Sometimes, we are grouped with trolls who intentionally make the game worse for everyone, players that are unskilled, or even worse, toxic players. Arguing with these types of players will just make you one of them.
Almost everyone has the “GIT GUD” mentality. You don’t need to be good at the game to enjoy it. At the end of the day, it is a video game. You are supposed to enjoy playing no matter what situations may arise.
Doublelift, a former League of Legends pro from LCS, once said that “You don’t play ranked to climb the ladder. You play ranked to improve your gameplay”. When you win, you feel gratitude for achieving victory and find more ways to improve. When you lose, try to figure out what made you lose the game. It doesn’t start with blaming your teammates. You should always start with yourself and try to determine what you did wrong that it cost you from winning a game.
Don’t be ignorant when you make your mistakes. Because mistakes are sometimes the key points in learning a lesson. Always learn from failure rather than looking at how to succeed first. Smart people learn from their mistakes. However, the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.
Conclusion
These tips will work well if you really apply it. However, you should also determine what really works for you because everyone is different. Find whatever helps you in improving your focus and mentality. Because at the end of the day, it’s going to pay off.