Twitch and YouTube game streaming has boomed in popularity during the COVID pandemic, as people were restricted to their homes, many losing their employment. Twitch provided the perfect opportunity for people to enjoy a household favorite and potentially make income on the side. Some of the most popular game streamers in the world now boast net worth figures in the millions.
While losing yourself into the digital world of gaming can be fun and productive, it can also be difficult to balance your time management and physical activity – something I quickly discovered as I ventured into the world of starting out as a Twitch streamer.
I set my schedule up, and soon expanded to have multiple gaming sessions in the week, and through the weekend. At one point I was hosting double streams across the weekend – sometimes resulting in 5-7 hours of gaming per day, all in the name of trying to get some starting momentum for my platform. I hadn’t properly considered any of the potential negative effects of video gaming so much.
The obvious downside of that was struggling to find ways not to become glued to a gaming chair for multiple hours per day.
It’s still difficult to get out to gym facilities and, with winter on the way, outdoor running may also move off the cards for those struggling to find the motivation to leave their screens to get some exercise in.
This is where table tennis becomes the perfect activity to have on hand within reach in your own home.
Easy to fit into a game room or garage, and not too far away from the warmth and comfort of your gaming chair – a table tennis table is the perfect way to break hours of staring at a screen, and as we all know frequently bad posture.
Less bland than going for a run, a safer home environment than going out to a gym (many of which are still closed/restricted), a good balance of fun and physical activity – table tennis provides just the right of movement and enjoyable gameplay to be a great physical complement to break up gaming sessions.
After a month of getting underway, I pulled back a little on the streaming and opened up my schedule for some more table tennis practice.
For me, finding the balance was important for not becoming a physical and mental zombie. Something as simple as getting up and hitting for 30 minutes with an iPong practice robot, or playing some fun games with your family or close friends, can make a big difference into whether your day ends with you in digital zombie mode.
With the first snow here and a new year upon us, now is the perfect time to invest in a table for the home – especially for parents looking for a way to get manage their kids screen time, whether it be TV, gaming or even their remote school learning.
Personally, adding those small breaks with some physical activity have helped reduce tiredness, increase energy throughout the day, and also aided in lessening the impact of eye strain and lower back pain from not managing good posture throughout my streams for prolonged periods of time.
2020 was a tough year, and sometimes we have just needed to escape reality for a bit, it’s all about balancing fun, gaming mental health benefits, and physical activity/breaks. It’s a time for resolutions, and finding balance when it comes to gaming time could be yours.
As we continue to move forward through this time there’s definitely plenty of time to enjoy gaming and to capitalize off the popularity of streaming – it’s all about creating healthy gaming habits – just make sure you get up, take breaks, stretch and maybe think about playing a little table tennis on the side to get yourself moving and having a little light exercise!
