When playing Rocket League for prolonged periods of time, you will face fatigue. How you manage that fatigue separates you from others. We will break down the different forms of fatigue and discuss how to combat them. Remember, your physical and mental health always comes first!

Focus

Good focus is the most important part of competitive gaming. If you cannot stay alert, you will play worse. Below are ways to maximize your focus.

The first thing you need to do is light up your room. Although you may be inclined to leave the lights off, make sure to turn on at least a couple of lights in your room. This will make your mind feel more alert. Also, your eyes will have to strain less, allowing you to use more energy for thinking about the game.

Gamers typically sleep very little. If you want to improve at Rocket League, you must get better sleep. Shoot for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Your brain can both problem solve and critically think better with more sleep. Also, our brains are better at critical thinking when we wake up than right before we sleep. If you can change your schedule to go to sleep early and wake up early, you will be better off.

Eating well is another side of gaming that many people ignore. In traditional sports, everyone knows that you must eat before you play. The same rule applies to eSports. When our blood sugar gets low, many hormones are triggered in the brain. These hormones mess up our normal critical thinking process. If you do not eat enough, it will be harder to focus and make good decisions. Also, if you are spending hours grinding Rocket League, good eating habits will keep you healthy.

Lastly, if you feel like you are having an off-day, it might be time for a break. Our brain struggles to critically think for extended periods of time, so when you feel your decision-making skills slipping, take a break. Below, find out some ways to take effective breaks.

Effective Breaks

When you are grinding Rocket League, it is likely that you will be spending a lot of your time on the game. When you take breaks from playing, you should try to make your breaks productive in other aspects of your life.

Exercise is a perfect use of your breaks. If you are taking a break for a few hours from the game, go to the gym and work out for an hour. Not only will this help your physical health, but your mental health will also benefit from exercising and breathing some fresh air. You can also go for a walk or simply do some push-ups.

Unless you are 100% committed to Rocket League eSports, it is likely that you have a job or schoolwork that you do. Maximize your time away from the game by catching up on some of your work or responsibilities. When the stress of those activities is relieved, you will have more energy to focus on the game when you play.

Sweaty Hands

Sweaty hands are some of the most difficult things to face when playing Rocket League. Sweat will make you feel stressed and on edge. Besides being mentally affected, your hands will also slip over the controller, removing some precision from your mechanics.

Typically, sweaty hands come from you feeling nervous. When we get stressed, our bodies heat up, causing sweat. If you can calm yourself down, you will stop sweating.

First, wipe off the sweat that you already have on a towel. Then, take a moment in between goals or games to just take a couple of controlled slow breaths. Try to clear your mind and only focus on your breathing. This will disconnect your thoughts from the stress of the game, allowing your emotions and temperature to calm down.

As an extra tip, I suggest turning off the ability to see the divisions and MMR of you and your teammates and opponents. Seeing that you are close to a rank-up will cause you to get nervous. Seeing that you ranked down will also make you nervous because you will want to rank back up. There really is no mental positive to knowing your MMR at every moment. Just play the game, and the rank will come.

Breathing/Meditation Exercises

Sometimes simply breathing is not enough to calm you down. I suggest that you look into specific meditation practices to find the best for you. There are some simple techniques that I can explain now.

The breathing circle is a technique I use often when preparing for a big final match of a tournament or a rank-up game. Try to clear your mind for a second and relax your breathing. Then, breathe in for 8 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, breathe out for 8 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, and repeat until you feel calmed down.

Focusing on one sense is another effective meditation technique. Sometimes completely clearing your mind is difficult. If you instead focus your thoughts on a simple sense, you will still calm down. Try taking off your headset and feeling your desk, carpet, or anything with a distinct texture. Focus all your thoughts on how the surface feels. Anytime you think of something else, try to re-focus on the touch. This technique sounds ridiculous, but it is highly effective at calming your mind.

Eye Strain

Eye Strain is one of the most common effects of playing games for extended periods of time. Playing when your eyes hurt is going to be destructive to your eyes and your rank. Besides turning on the lights in your room or simply getting away from technology, there are some easy tricks to help your eyes.

Blue light glasses are a simple solution to some eye strain problems. Eye strain can come from the blue lights from technology. Blue light typically makes it harder to focus on a certain point on the screen, which is something you constantly have to do while playing Rocket League. Blue light glasses filter this blue light, helping your eyes feel better.

Changing the distance away you are from your screen may also help your eyes. If you are too far from your screen, it may be hard to see the details on the screen. When you try to focus your vision on a part of a faraway screen, your eyes might strain because of the difficulty to see. It is also possible you are too close to the screen. Being too close to the screen leads to temporary eye strain. Also, if you are too close to a bright screen, your eyes may be hurting without you originally noticing. Try adjusting the brightness of your screen and moving near or away from it until you find the perfect area for you.

Concluding Thoughts

The most important aspect of your eSports career is your health. Make sure to prioritize your needs and remember that it is okay to take a break from time to time. Feel free to refer back to this article whenever you are feeling off. Good luck out there!