POWER SAVING DURING VIRTUAL GAMING
The human brain, accounts for just 2% of the total body mass. However, it needs the most energy of all organs to work properly. When a player is resting he expends energy only on respiration, digestion and keeping warm. His brain, on the other hand, uses about 20-25% of total body energy. It is interesting to note that the brain of a child aged 5-6 years consumes as much as 60% of body energy.
Our brain does not rest, even when we are asleep. It is constantly active in order to maintain our body's vital functions.
Increased intellectual effort raises the brain's energy requirements, which contributes to a progressive strain on the central nervous system.
Traditional sports set research trends
For some time now, sports psychologists, along with a whole host of doctors and measuring equipment, have been trying to optimise the physical and mental effort of the professional athlete. A striker on a football pitch no longer runs 11 kilometres during a match. A defender does not do the same number of sprints in training as a midfielder. On the basketball court, it is possible to observe the behaviour of players sitting down on the bench for a while where they close their eyes and do not follow the game. The golfer, after hitting a shot, holds the club up for a few more seconds. All this is done to minimise the physical and mental effort and to be ready for the next move.
What does it look like in esports ?
A professional computer gamer spends between 5 and 10 hours a day in front of a computer 5-6 days a week. He often plays a 2 to 3 hour official match a day. Sometimes there are two or even three matches in a day. Each virtual game involves a huge energy expenditure for our brain. In comparison, a footballer plays one maximum of two official matches per week.
In a recent interview, Device, one of the best Counter-Strike Global Offensive players in the world, said that after every major tournament, he tingles. So you can guess what kind of stresses the central nervous system of professional players is under.
So is there room during a tournament match for a computer player to save energy ?
I think so. The first step in this direction is to familiarise yourself with and master and systematically implement mental techniques. There are many tools for relaxation or stress relief. The next step would be to understand and sense at which stage of the game it is possible to perform this action and let your eyes off the game. The next step and the most important one is to monitor the player and listen to their feedback. Only on this basis can we modify the exercises.
Questions arise
The first thing that comes to mind is, when he would not be looking at the monitor and performing the relaxation, would the details needed for the next round escape him, or would they be helpful in real time, e.g. to a colleague who is still playing the game ? Just like at a poker table, where we follow the behaviour of our opponents even after they have folded their hand.
Does the exclusion of the organ of sight have to go hand in hand with the exclusion of the organ of hearing to fully relax?
I think that over years of playing, some unnatural adaptations are produced in esports players which creates new opportunities for psychologists who understand the esports ecosystem to work.
Examples of unnatural adaptations in players
For an ordinary person, keeping track of statistics, communicating with five game partners, operating the mouse and keyboard and performing tasks all at the same time is not natural and requires focusing on each activity individually. For a professional gamer, this has become as natural as manual gear shifting for a driver. The same is true of the body's adaptation when seated. The human body is designed for physical activity. The more we use our musculoskeletal system, the more it will serve us for years to come. After all, we are descended from animals and sitting for five hours without moving is unnatural for our bodies.
Players often have an incorrect posture when working at a computer. It is interesting to note, as I mentioned above, that the body has adapted this position even though it is not natural and the player himself does not feel any discomfort. What will be different, however, is when you stop playing professionally.
The same is true for stress levels. Professional esports players are definitely more resilient to stress than amateur players. Here, you don't even need to back up the results of the studies (which have been done). It can be seen with the naked eye.
Summary
I am convinced that the reorganisation of the current training of the esports player should begin with an understanding of :
- How the player's brain and body work,
- what stresses the athlete is facing,
- what signs the player himself is sending
Then :
- Develop a plan to minimise errors due to overtraining, diet and classify and adapt micro and macro training cycles with periodisation.
- Eliminate stressors in the player and relieve him of the organisational issues of the club. In the name of the principle "the less the player has on his mind the better he will focus on the game itself."
Based on this and an understanding of the ethics of the game itself, the tournament schedule and the overall health of the player, full training plans can only be created with periodisation in mind.
If we can optimise a player with these details, increase his performacne even by 5% then add the other four players = gives us a better team by 25% ! And there will no longer be a situation where a team loses its third match in a row after winning the first map 1:2 or the match ends with a score of 14:16 .
One thing is certain, esports is moving forward at a very fast pace. Whoever continues to underestimate the impact of mental training, a healthy diet and physical activity on improving an athlete's performance and fails to implement the concept of sportsmanship - will be left behind.
Train with your head!
Maciej Cyprjanski, ePerformance Coach, Team GAMINATE
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Gaminate - are professional supplements for gamers. The product has been developed to meet the highest expectations of professional esports players, so it is able to meet the needs of every gamer. The supplement is designed to ensure long-lasting and maximum mental and physical performance, and the positive effect can be felt 3 to 6 hours.
