Improve your E-Gaming Skills

With everyone stuck at home during COVID, it seems like people are spending more and more of their time online.  Twitch, a leading site for game play, has had their traffic increase by more than 20 percent.  Whether you are a recreational player or a professional e-athlete, most people are looking to improve their performance and get a competitive edge over their opponent.

Playing video games can help to improve your eye-hand coordination, improve your ability to track several objects at the same time, improve your ability to pay attention to fast moving events, and to enhance your cognitive skills.  Research supports that these visual abilities can be strengthened and enhanced with visual training.  If you are interested, contact us about our Sports Vision Enhancement Program.

There are a few things you can do yourself:
1.  Blink more often---research shows that people blink a third of what they normally do when they are on screens.  Blinking is what helps moisturize and clean our eyes.  This delay in blinking can cause eyes that causes a decrease in visual clarity and can cause discomfort.
2.  20-20-20 rule:  Every 20 minutes looking at a screen, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.  This helps relax the eyes and reduce the near eye strain.
3.  Keep your distance:  If you can touch the screen while you are gaming, you are way too close.  The good rule of the thumb is that it should be at least 6 feet away
4.  Reduce the Glare:  Cut the glare coming off from the screen.  Consider where your windows are.  Adjust the curtains or blinds to control the light reflecting off the screen.  There are also computer filters that you can apply to help cut the glare.  Cleaning the dust can also help reduce the glare.
5.  The height of your screen:  For max comfort:  the center of the computer shoult be five to nine inches below your eye level.  Straight ahead, you should be looking over the top of the montor.

These may not feel like huge changes, but each small thing you do may help give you a competitive edge.  If you are interested on enhancing your visual skills for e-gaming, contact our office about our Sports Vision Enhancement Program.