Reflect on the past few weeks of your online gaming experience. Do you feel like you are stuck at a certain rank? Do you quickly feel drained? Feel a lack of energy throughout the day or even difficulty concentrating on simple work tasks? Struggling to keep up with basic conversations or even reading this? All of these symptoms can be decreased or even removed with some simple lifestyle changes that will not only improve your daily life but will also translate to improving your on-screen play.

With these subsequent tips, you will be able to see differences in your gaming performance. Mood and energy are just some of the positive effects of these simple and applicable steps. Your diet, eating habits, sleep, and physical activity are detrimental to your gaming performance. Following these easy steps, will eventually add up and improve your focus and energy levels.

1. Look at your water intake.

It may sound simple and silly, but increasing your water intake will help improve your game performance in many ways. First of all, your brain is mostly water, so drinking more water will help overall brain health which translates to improved focus, concentration, balanced moods and emotions, and memory maintenance. Look up how much water you should drink as your gender, age, and activity level all go into how much water you should really drink. The average number is about two liters a day. Not only will this improve brain health and performance, but it will also help with your diet. If you have a hard time drinking the recommended amount of water, try adding some tasty BCAAs to it or some amines. Flavored and sparkling water are also a healthy alternative.

2. Reset your digestive system by intermittent fasting.

A great way to set yourself up for a more fulfilled on-screen grind, I would start with basic calorie restriction and longer periods of time between meals. This is commonly referred to as intermittent fasting. First, start increasing the time in between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the day. A good number to aim at would be around 12-15 hours. This will help promote neurological health, while also decreasing neurodegenerative diseases. Applying intermittent fasting in your daily lifestyle will also aid in weight loss.

Cutting weight can eventually elevate mood by boosting self-esteem. Another benefit to intermittent fasting would be achieving ketogenesis, which helps improve your focus by stimulating brain regeneration. Look up some intermittent fasting diets or even ketogenic diets that fit your lifestyle. Following a health coach, who knows how to help improve your diet, can make sure the nutrition in your meals will be geared towards mental focus.

3. Fuel your brain with the right food

Diet is one of the most important factors in health and wellness. Make sure your diet is low in sugar and processed foods. Stick to healthy fats, protein and vegetables. Your brain is made up of a lot of protein and fat, so it makes sense to fuel it with both. Adding some antioxidants and coenzyme Q10 to your diet will assist your body’s natural energy production for good quality practice sessions. Using energy drinks to stay up and game is a bad alternative, because there is always a crash. Figure out which diet best works for you and decide food you will enjoy.

4. Add a little movement in your day.

A simple way to increase your energy levels would be by adding some sort of workout activity in your busy day. Mild cognitive dysfunction is more prevalent in people that live a sedentary lifestyle. Gamers are already more susceptible to this over time, but if you have an eight-hour desk-bound job and then go home to sit and game for hours, this can accumulate over time. Simple workouts can be done at home in 30 minutes or less. Going on a short run can help elevate your mood and improve your memory. Have you ever worked out in the morning and then went about your day feeling ‘on top of it’? That's because during physical activity, your brain releases endorphins and cytokines. Both of these helps boost your brain with mood elevation and sharper focus. Go on a walk and listen to a podcast or some music before you get home. Applying any workout or mobile activity to your life will boost your mood and energy.

5. Sleep with purpose and efficiency.

A way most gamers can improve their performance is with sleep. People often try to get the most out of their day by staying up late or getting up early. This will always end up working against you, as your basic cognitive abilities decrease with sleep deprivation. Your sleep deprivation can be contributed by the amount of time between you trying to go to bed and blue light exposure. Try to give yourself an hour after blue light exposure before you go to bed.

Blue light decreases your natural melatonin, which is crucial to achieving deep REM sleep. REM and non-REM sleep are needed to help store and process your memories from the day. Trying to go to bed right after blue light exposure interrupts this process. This is the time where your body will recover, to help aid with improving memory and energy. If you are not getting quality REM and non-REM sleep, your gameplay performance will only decrease over time. Try placing an extreme urgency on getting at least seven hours of sleep, go for eight if possible. The quality of your gameplay performance will increase over time.

Applying all these tips will translate to both long-term improved game performance and quality of life. Start small by taking by applying at least one change each week. Finding the right foods for your diet, workout activity and sleep schedule will be different for everyone, but once all are applied, you will see improvement in any game your play.