“Just one more game”: healthy gaming for teens and adults

A book has chapters and a film has credits. Many online games just roll straight into the next match, quest or season. Without a built-in ending, you have to create your own.

Being one level, one item or one win away is a powerful pull. Daily rewards and streaks can also make taking a day off feel like losing something.

Most teen players play with other people. Leaving a squad mid-session can feel like letting friends down, which makes stopping harder.

After a loss, the urge to play one more to end on a win can keep you going for hours. Frustration and tiredness usually make the next game worse, not better.

• You enjoy it and feel refreshed or connected after
• You can stop when you planned to, most of the time
• Sleep, meals, school or work and relationships stay on track
• You have other interests too

The World Health Organization describes gaming disorder as loss of control over gaming, gaming taking priority over other interests and daily life, and carrying on despite harm. It affects only a small proportion of people who play.

• Gaming comes before sleep, meals, school, work or people
• Feeling irritable, sad or anxious when you can’t play
• Lying about how much you play
• Using games to escape a bad mood, again and again

Daily quests, streaks and team schedules can make gaming feel like a job. If you’re playing more out of pressure than pleasure, that’s worth noticing.

People normally blink about 15 times a minute, but only about 5 to 7 times while using screens. That can leave eyes dry and tired.

• Blink on purpose, often
• Look up from the screen at something far away now and then
• Sit about an arm’s length from a computer screen

Adults need 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, like brisk walking, plus muscle-strengthening on 2 days. Any activity counts, and sitting less helps.

Hunger, thirst and stiffness can make you more irritable and less focused, in games and out. Keeping water nearby and stopping for real meals helps your mood and your play.

Many matches can’t be paused, so a timer going off mid-game leads to arguments, even with yourself. Agreeing on a number of matches, or “after this one”, is easier to keep.

A 10-minute warning, or an alarm set for one game before the end, gives your brain time to wrap up.

• A snack or meal
• A shower
• A call with a friend
• A short walk
• A show you like

Ending after a decent match, not after a loss, helps you leave in a better mood. If you lose your last planned game, try stopping anyway. It gets easier with practice.

47% of teen players say gaming has helped their friendships, and 32% say it has helped their mental health. Very few say it has hurt either.

Pediatricians suggest making sure gaming doesn’t crowd out homework, exercise and sleep. A simple plan, like games after homework, can cut down on arguments.

38% of U.S. teens say they’ve chosen to cut back on gaming. Small steps, like one gaming-free school night, often stick better than quitting all at once.

Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep. If gaming is regularly cutting into that, work, mood and patience usually suffer first.

Things that help

• Agree on gaming nights and couple nights
• Use headphones and a heads-up before long sessions
• Try a game you can play together
• Talk about it at a calm time, not mid-match

Words you could use

• “I love that you enjoy it. I just miss our evenings.”
• “Can we plan which nights are game nights?”

Pediatricians note that parents who are very absorbed in gaming may miss signs that a child needs attention, and that modelling healthy habits helps kids.

Most parent players also play with their kids, which can be a great way to connect.

• Break: you feel refreshed and ready to get back to life
• Escape: the bad feeling is waiting for you, sometimes worse
• Break: you can choose to play or not
• Escape: not playing feels unbearable

• Talk to someone you trust
• Get outside or move your body
• Write down what’s bothering you
• Try a breathing exercise in this app

If you feel low, anxious or lonely most of the time, a doctor, school counsellor or therapist can help with what’s underneath.

Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day.

A free, 24/7 text line with trained crisis counselors. Some people find texting easier than talking.

Find A Helpline (findahelpline.com) lists free helplines in many countries, by phone, text or chat.