Today we are going to talk about the most underrated and yet most important and simplest task you could do that will instantly help you stay focused and take your game to another level – improve your sleep.
The topic about sleep is really vast and can’t be properly discussed in a single article, probably not even in a whole book. However I would try to discuss some of the important aspects of sleep and why it is so crucial for your optimal performance.
A healthy brain needs around 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep in order to recover and regain its energy. Sleep improves your focus, memory, emotional control and helps you cope easier with stressful situations. All of these functions are crucial for high performing gamers. However, a lot of gamers ignore this part of their everyday routine and some even brag that “they don’t need almost any sleep”. While there might be exceptions and some people who could function without sufficient hours of sleep, the majority of us can’t. In fact, scientific research shows that less than 1% of the population is able to get six hours of sleep and show no impairment. Everyone else is just fooling themselves and propping up their energy with stimulants.
So let’s talk about what happens if we ignore this information and put our selves intentionally in sleep deprivation.
How lack of sleep affects your gaming performance?
Multiple scientific evidence suggests that sleep deficits are very bad for cognitive functions like attention and concentration. If you are a pro gamer you already see why this is bad.
The majority of your performance is based on your ability to be focused and to react on time. Without these two skills your career is garbage. But what is even worse is that when you’re sleep-deprived, you don’t know how poorly you’re performing because your low performance becomes a normal baseline.
Another very important skill for your successful career is your reaction time. Studies show that professional gamers have around the same reactions as pilots! But what happens to your reaction time if you are sleep deprived? You got it.. it becomes a lot slower and your performance is declining leaving you not only tired but frustrated and angry at yourself.
Sleep deficits add up over time, and performance progressively worsens with greater sleep deficit. Having 10 nights of 6-hour sleep is equal in damage to one all-nighter, as is 6 nights of 4-hour sleep.
So what to do to instantly improve your sleep?
There are a lot of things which you could do and there is no general answer for everyone. However, you could start with these 5 simple principles.
If you want to control it, you have to measure it. Create your own sleeping schedule and stick to it.
We are not talking about going to bed at 10 P.M. and that’s it. Of course, everyone has different lifestyle and their schedule should be set accordingly. Just make sure that you go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Discipline yourself to follow this schedule and set proper alarms for bedtime and wake up.
Avoid energy stimulants unless you really have to.
If you need a large mug of coffee so that you could function properly then you are not getting enough sleep. Period. As a sworn coffee lover I know from personal experience how hard it is to instantly cut your energy drinks but the sooner you do this the sooner you would get decent sleep.
Avoid large meals before you go to sleep.
Minor snacks in between praccs might be okay. Large meals – maybe no. Especially junk food. Studies show that some people find it really hard to fall asleep after they ate large meals before bed. Also, if you are not physically active during the day (which is relevant for the majority of gamers) you would gain weight much easier if you are having this additional meal right before bed. So that’s another negative effect which you might want to avoid.
Relax your mind before you go to sleep.
Gaming is keeping the brain active as crazy. If you are going to bed straight after you finished playing, you would find it very difficult to fall asleep (your smartphone won’t help so cut that too).
Try relaxing your mind before you go to sleep try different relaxing activities such as listening to music, reading or meditating.
Keep a sleep-friendly environment.
The last thing but not the least important is related to your environment. Keep a dark and free of distractions bedroom. If you want to have a good sleep you should get rid of anything in your bedroom that might sabotage your sleep, such as noises, bright lights, any kind of devices and even uncomfortable bed. Going to sleep with your phone in your hands is a terrible habit and is proven to disrupt sleep quality. Instead, what you could do is to put your phone away from your bed with the alarm already set. So in the morning you would have no choice but to wake up, get up and turn it off.
I know that these are really basic but proven to be valuable steps. Yet gamers often ignore them. But if you want to be a professional, you should use every information, skill or trick which would boost your performance.
Now if you want to take your performance to another level send me a message at contact@goendgame.com and get your custom-made program now.
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂