Playing VideoGames 24/7 Ruins Your Sleep and Dreams

My experience after playing First Person Shooter (FPS) games like call of duty, for 3 months every day for 6 to 8 hours.

Video games can be exciting if you’re aching for thrill and challenging tasks to become a part of a team or a squad. But too much of playing violent video games can affect your brain and your mental health. Detoxifying can even take a few weeks from the after-effects of such games on the mind.

I played video games avidly more precisely FPS, that are indeed really loud and violent during the start of the pandemic. Games like of call of duty, where you need to pay attention to perhaps various in-game factors. Sounds of gunfire and aggressive patterns connected to a kill shot when either your squadmates fire on your or the enemy.

I sometimes played the entire day, during the early days of the pandemic and at night with my friends. In what ways longer exposure to such sounds, can do to your brain. I have enough experience to say that even while you sleep, your brain works as if it’s still in the game. So even if I was asleep my brain was still imagining the sounds of the gunshots in the game. I would feel that sensation in my mind, even though there was no sound in reality.

As the brain was on hyperdrive during playing those games, my mind was affected very dearly. Even my dreams were affected by playing the games, I would keep on running in the dream, and gunning from fire. Sometimes, it would be unbearable as the sounds broke my sleep countless times. This effect on my mental state affected me a lot. Longer exposures can do that.

I used to play RTS(Real-time strategy) games professionally back as a teenager. This state is true and happens often to people who dream of their gameworlds even in their sleep as I would even be playing and coming up with newer strategies in my dreams during my sleep.

Sometimes, it can be a good thing but overall it’s a very bad experience. It has a lot of adverse effects on your mental health. Video games when played in moderation can be really good. Not all video games are violent, examples can be Rocket league for argument’s sake.

I had a lot of time during the start of the pandemic. Thus I wanted to play games, I would work on certifications in the morning and play call of duty in between breaks. When in moderation, Video games are a good aspect when in the good company of friends — it is perhaps an awesome activity. One that rewards you as well, if you are good enough.

Overall, it took me a week or two to detox myself from the mental stress that your brain will accumulate when you play these games without moderation. You need to take breaks in between games, and exercise and exert all that stress away otherwise all the stress that you will accumulate during your gameplay when not dissipated properly will be causing a lot of ruckuses while you sleep.

It will be like an actual warzone in your mind, and your dreams will get influenced by it. Thus I would advise you to play games in moderation, give your mind and yourself a break. I haven’t played FPS in a while, because I get bored playing by myself. Thus, perhaps someday when my squadmates might be free then I might give it a chance.

Playing video games is fun, but too much of it is toxic for your brain. Don’t stress too much over a game, play to learn, play to win but most of all try to take exercises in between as it will help you to become more agile and won’t put a lot of stress on your mind, remove that stress by taking breaks and have fun.

Thank you for reading.

Stay well, and Play Safe. 🎮