Setting the Stage: Practical Steps to Promoting Student Wellbeing through Esports
By: Blaise Patterson
As a teenager, it was not uncommon for me to spend the weekend gaming with friends. We would visit the local convenience store, stock up on chips and pop, and stay up gaming until 6AM. Needless to say, we all slept until the late afternoon. We created memories that I remember fondly, however it also created something else – bad habits. Although I have developed healthier habits in more recent years, truthfully the average weekend still involves staying up until 3AM playing games with friends.
Obviously not all gamers develop bad habits; I certainly have friends that maintain a healthy diet and prioritize sleep. However, there is a reason that unhealthy products, such as chips, pop and energy drinks are the go-to promotional materials for gaming-focused incentives; they are often the snack of choice for video game players. I have observed enough gamers with poor habits (myself included) to know that it’s worth promoting healthy practices to support future generations of gamers.
My goal with building a scholastic esports strategy is to approach the wellbeing of our student gamers from a holistic perspective; not only tackling better eating and sleeping practices, but physical, mental, and social wellbeing as well. If we work together to incorporate self-care at the start, rather than an afterthought or add on, we can implant life skills that have meaning and significant positive outcomes.
8 Important Topics of Wellbeing to Consider:
Reducing Eye Strain
Most of our day is spent on a device. Whether working or learning online, browsing our phones, or playing video games; screen time is well-integrated into our daily lives. One might argue that video games are not a necessity, but I would suggest that for many, playing video games serves as a method of decompressing; something extremely necessary, especially given the stresses our students face today.
It is due to this large amount of screen time that I recommend trying a blue light filter. Known as Night Light on Windows, Night Shift for Mac, iPad and iPhone and Eye Comfort Shield for Samsung devices, users have the ability to adjust the amount of blue light that their device emits. In an article written by Coles‐Brennan et al., a study found that blue light lenses reduced both objective and subjective measures of digital eye strain (2019). While there are studies suggesting blue light filters do little to help, I recommend you and your students try it and decide for yourselves; I use blue light filters on all my devices and have found it helps significantly.
An alternative common practice is the 20/20/20 system; every 20 minutes of screen use, take a break looking at objects over 20 feet away for 20 seconds, which is said to reduce digital eye strain. Ideally, we are granting ourselves enough time to tune out, eat and exercise, but these are potential strategies to support the times that require screens.
2. Giving our Body the Rest it Needs
Whether you’re having fun playing with friends, appreciating being able to relax, or enjoying the game itself, it is easy to lose track of time when gaming. The challenge is understanding when to stop, and while this concept is relatively straightforward (e.g., setting an alarm to ensure going to sleep by a certain point), it does not make it any easier.
Staying up late and playing video games is so tempting; we need to discuss the importance of rest and mindful practice with our students. The first recommendation I have is to educate your students about the importance of a consistent sleep schedule. Allowing our bodies to develop a sleep cycle will help ensure that we are more inclined to sleep when necessary.
Secondly, I recommend encouraging your students to support one another with their efforts; having your students coordinate “curfews” can incentivise going to sleep at a more reasonable hour. An approach to this could be social groups ending their gaming sessions by a certain time on weeknights to avoid FOMO (fear of missing out). It could also involve incentivizing consistent sleep schedules by rewarding your students when they record a consistent sleep schedule.
3. Healthy Eating Practices
Unhealthy eating habits is not exclusive to gamers. However, we have some series obstacles…disregarding hunger because of preoccupation with a game, choosing to indulge in unhealthy snacks, ordering in to avoid the time drain required to prepare a meal, are just a few. There are many reasons that lead to unhealthy practices, and there are few role models to demonstrate otherwise; practically every Twitch streamer I watch has a daily cadence of ordering in food, due to their necessity to play video games for the viewer, instead of cooking. This may not be a concern for our students, who have a parent/guardian to prepare their meals (recognizing not every student has this).
I’m mindful that there are external factors that result in varying eating habits, and thus we do not want to associate a sense of guilt with unhealthy eating. Rather, we should highlight the benefits of healthy eating. A great strategy for doing so is to connect eating with performance; an article on Acer’s website discusses healthy food choices for gamers in the form of simple, low-cost snacks and ingredients. There is also an article featured on Dot Esports, which discusses best practices for healthy eating. Gamers need proper nutrition like any other athlete on the planet. We have to find ways to tear down the cliche representation of gamers and promote the concepts of meal-planning and high-quality foods that lead to better performance.
4. Emotional Regulation and Toxic Encounters
I play my fair share of competitive online video games, and it is not uncommon to encounter “toxic” players. Toxic referring to intentionally negative behaviour, such as verbal harassment, or setting out to ruin the experience for other players. Some choose to engage with toxic players, others simply ignore them.
Over the years I have learned to not let them upset me. The issue, however, is that whether you let online encounters impact you or not, it does not eliminate them from happening; they are an unfortunate part of the online gaming experience. Therefore, we have a responsibility to promote social emotional learning; practicing empathy could help reduce toxic behaviours, while also supporting our student’s self-regulation when dealing with toxic encounters. NASEF has a great video called Controlling Tilt, which discusses the impacts of tilt (a gaming term for when your mood/personality is impacted negatively), and how to practice overcoming it.
5. Impulse Control and Financial Responsibility
Video games themselves can be pricey, with the costs of most triple A games averaging $80-90 before tax. Additionally, over the past several years developers have been navigating ways to earn more money from existing games. Some developers choose to release DLC (downloadable content), which can add additional challenges, storylines, characters, etc. to a game. Other games offer various aesthetic additions, which (typically) do not offer any bonuses to performance but can make a player’s character look better.
For the latter, many of today’s games which offer aesthetics will do so through a couple of means: the players can outright purchase these in-game aesthetics, or they can opt to purchase what are called loot boxes. Loot boxes, which are typically much cheaper individually than an aesthetic change (such as a player or weapon skin), offer a random assortment of potential rewards. Many popular esports-associated video games employ this system, such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Apex Legends and more. Due to their association to gambling (paying for a product without knowing the results), many games have even opted to eliminate loot boxes.
Whether paying for aesthetics directly, or paying for loot boxes, it is important to educate our students on self-regulation to reduce impulsive behaviours. A study conducted by Liau et al. found that players with the ability to self-regulate well were less predisposed to impulsive behaviours (2015). Having a discussion with our students which encourages them to reflect on the benefits and detriments of purchasing in-game aesthetics can have a lasting impact; you can do so by asking the following questions:
Does this in-game purchase affect my enjoyment of the game?
Does this in-game purchase change the gameplay?
What could I purchase with the money I am using on this in-game purchase?
How long do I see myself playing this video game?
If I really want this in-game purchase, is there a possibility that it could go on sale? If so, do I have any reason to not wait for a sale?
For Loot Box Purchases
What are the chances that I will receive something that I want from a loot box?
Was I satisfied the last time I purchased loot boxes? If so, how likely will I be satisfied with my next loot box purchase?
Can I acquire loot boxes by playing the game? If so, are there any reasons I cannot wait to receive loot boxes by playing the game?
It is also worth noting, that it is just as important to have a dialogue with your students regarding video game purchases in general. A joke among the computer gaming community is the dangers of Steam sales; Steam being one of the most popular platforms to purchase video games for computers, is notorious for their massive sales. Many gamers often joke about Steam emptying their wallets due to their desire to purchase games of interest sooner rather than later, tempted by the steep discounts. As a teenager with a part-time job and limited spending money, it was the best time of the year to buy games.
In more recent years, and after painfully reflecting on my large (and mostly unused) library of games, I became more critical of my purchases; I began to realize that I am not saving money if I do not end up playing the games. There is an option to refund a game if you have not played it, but it must be within two weeks of making the purchase.
A related risk is the temptation of purchasing games on release day. Given the development time required for most games these days, it is not uncommon to see gameplay years before a game releases. During this period, it is easy to become excited about that which is so far out of reach, and by the time it launches, you must have it immediately. There are a couple of issues with doing so: the first is that sometimes we get so excited for it to be available, that we ignore reasons to wait, such as having other games to play, or not having the time to play; the second reason, is that there has been a recurring pattern of publishers wanting to expedite game development, resulting in the release of an unfinished game.
Here are some questions to encourage a reflective practice before making a video game purchase:
Do I currently have a video game that I am enjoying playing?
Do I have other video games that I can play through first?
Have I seen gameplay after launch to confirm that the game works well, and that it is something I would be interested in?
Do I need to play it immediately, or can I wait for a sale?
6. Promoting Academics
We have an opportunity in our esports clubs to promote a focus on academics. It is not a matter of punishing or rewarding based on academic performance, but rather fostering an environment that encourages collaboration and problem solving. Not only are these skills that will improve gaming performance, but they will also support our students well beyond the classroom.
Keeping in mind that esports clubs attract more than just players interested in competing; you will most likely also have gaming enthusiasts wanting to spend time with friends and like-minded individuals. There are ways to include these individuals, such as having them participate in team discussions regarding strategy, contribute to team branding, or participate in practice play. Whatever the case, there may also be downtime, where you can encourage students to hangout and focus on schoolwork, with the help of you and their peers.
7. Emphasizing Physical Health
A simple but important practice to emphasize is taking breaks for physical exercise and drinking water. An easy way to integrate physical exercise in an esports club is to facilitate sets of exercises between games. For example, needing to complete a certain number of jumping jacks, squats, push ups, etc. before starting another game. You can determine the intensity based on how the team performed, to incentivize communication and working together. It can also be something less intensive, such as stretches; the important point is highlighting the importance of taking breaks and preventing sedentary behaviour. Additionally, setting goals to drink a set amount of water within a certain amount of time can ensure students are staying hydrated.
8. Wrapping it All Together with a Positive Environment
Whether you are integrating these practices when facilitating games-based learning, or creating an esports club, the atmosphere that you develop can work wonders. By fostering a positive environment while encouraging the healthy practices mentioned above, we can ensure that students are holding their peers accountable.
In my own experience, the practices of my social group weigh a heavy amount on my health-based decisions: I am less inclined to sleep if my friends plan to continue playing; I am more inclined to purchase a game if my friends are getting it; I used to avoid doing homework if my friends were playing online. Many habits were developed from FOMO, and if we encourage our students to not only practice healthier habits themselves, but also hold their peers accountable, we can hope to develop lasting change.
Notable Resources
It is encouraging to see the emphasis being placed on student wellbeing through scholastic esports; I truly believe that it is one of the best opportunities to support the health of future generations. I have included some links below, which will connect you to additional resources for your consideration, as we work together to promote student wellbeing:
NASEF (North America Scholastic Esports Federation) – Healthy Gaming
https://www.nasef.org/resources/healthy-gaming/
Acer Predator – Best Practices for Esports Athletes
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/training-room/articles/author/Wl5fOSkAAFHEypSq
NAECAD (National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors) – Guide to K-12 Esports
Chapters 10-12 (Page 51 - 69) – Focus on Mental Health, Exercise and Performance
In case you missed it, check out my first post on how to get started with Esports: Journey Into Scholastic Esports.
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