Barely out of bed in the morning, and you already feel like a ghost? You can't stop yawning, you're pouring toothpaste into your cereal bowl, you're putting your Nintendo t-shirt on inside out—in short, everything is going wrong?
If you've ever experienced these situations, or if you live them daily, it’s because you aren't getting enough sleep. Resting well means ensuring you stay in top physical and mental shape.
If you want to know why and if you want some advice on how to sleep better, you’ve come to the right place: we’ll explain everything… between two yawns!
The importance of sleep: boost your performance
We spend about a third of our lives sleeping (and another third playing video games—or almost!)
While this might be surprising, it’s mostly because our body needs it. Sleep is the only time and way for our body to regenerate and rebalance the forces that flow through us.
What is the role of sleep?
- Elimination of toxins
- Stimulation of immune defenses
- Production of hormones such as melatonin and growth hormone
- Renewal of energy stocks in muscle and nerve cells
- Regulation of mood and stress
- Stimulation of memory and learning mechanisms
- Regulation of blood sugar levels (glycemia)
- Maintenance of concentration and alertness for the entire day
All these functions allow our body to operate as optimally as possible and enable us to continue being the best player on the planet every day.
How do I know if I haven’t slept enough?
To answer that question, we would be tempted to say that if you’re playing really badly at Fall Guys, it’s probably because you haven't slept enough. But... it might be more subtle than that.
Here is a list of various situations that may be indicative of a lack of sleep:
- Your brain is running in slow motion – as if it had 200ms ping.
- You forget everything – your Xbox Live codes, the money cheat for The Sims, everything!
- You get annoyed over nothing – and not just because you came in last at Mario Kart…
- You have no energy left to train – and you're thinking about your competition this weekend!
- You doze off all day – no, it’s not because of some weird spell.
- You make bad decisions – and you cause your team to lose in LOL, oh man…
This list is not exhaustive. A lack of sleep can manifest in many other ways, such as the feeling of an eyelid twitching, a symptom we’ve written a full article about – check it out here.
In the long term, it can also manifest as other conditions: obesity, depression, bruised-looking face, chronic diseases.
If you want to know more, we found a very interesting interview given by Dr. Patrick Lemoine on RFI.
A fun little extra: There is a medical questionnaire to assess your level of daytime sleepiness using a standardized test, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Knowing you’re a curious person, we figured you might like it!
1, 2, 3, sleep! What you need to know about rest time
Sleep cycles
When we fall asleep, we very quickly go from light sleep to deep sleep before entering a REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase. This is what we call a cycle. During a good night’s sleep, our body goes through this cycle several times, allowing it to regenerate its hit points, at various levels.
NREM Sleep (light and deep)
Stage 1 – sleep onset phase: this is the moment when our body relaxes, the day's stress fades away, we forget that the PS5 is still sold out, and we slowly plunge into a state of semi-sleep.
Stage 2 – light sleep phase: light sleep is a state of rest in which it is still easy to wake up. It represents 50% of total sleep time. It is in this phase that eye and muscle activity decreases.
Stage 3 – deep sleep phase: it is in this phase that brain activity slows down and our body recovers most from the fatigue accumulated during the day. This moment represents 20 to 25% of total sleep time. This period plays a very important role in rebuilding the body's energy bricks, in addition to acting on cellular regeneration and triggering a neuron-cleansing function that eliminates proteins accumulating on them… I know, it all sounds like a scene from Ghost In The Shell, but that’s the magic of the human body!
REM Sleep (Paradoxical sleep)
This is the phase of dreams, our wildest dreams, like winning the ESWC as a team on Overwatch. And it is also the phase where our body is simultaneously plunged into very deep sleep (even though it shows signs of wakefulness).
REM sleep has a primary function in memory preparation, consolidation of learning, and the renewal of cognitive functions - an unavoidable stage, therefore, to become a gamer with flawless concentration after every night.
Finally, and in general, the duration of sleep is very important for heart regulation in order to rest your little heart (not the DBZ character) and give it the vitality it needs.
Recommendations by age group
Good sleep quality depends on quantity. Indeed, for every age group, there is a recommended amount of sleep.
We have retrieved and adapted the data provided by the National Sleep Foundation to create the table below so that you have all the details on sleep times. We’re cool, right?
With this table, you will be better informed about the amount of sleep needed to fully recharge your body. That said, nothing is stopping you from sleeping more if you feel the need. These are primarily durations recommended by scientific research on sleep.
Sleeping better: a matter of discipline
Whether in the world of e-sports or daily life, sleep experts recommend a number of ideas to facilitate falling asleep and ensure good quality rest.
Lighter evening meals
We aren’t asking you to go to bed on an empty stomach here. No, we suggest you avoid heavy dinners before sliding under the covers. The little tip would be to eat two to three hours before sleeping so that digestion isn’t too intense.
And also, before you forget, avoid drinking a whole bottle of water before bed, otherwise you’ll spend your night in the bathroom – not necessarily the best place to sleep, we agree!
If you’re looking for little ideas for balanced meals, we recommend our article - read it on the blog.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine
Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, just like energy drinks and sodas. You should know that caffeine acts on your body for an average of three to five hours, but the effects can be felt for more than ten hours. This can reduce the quality of your deep sleep but also your circadian rhythm.
Regarding alcohol, it is known that its consumption reduces the physical and cerebral regeneration process that happens during sleep. Consume in moderation, therefore.
Physical activity
Against stress, to have the physique of Ryu or Chun-Li from Street Fighter, but also to have restorative sleep, nothing beats good physical activity.
The idea is to practice a sport regularly so that your body can have a healthier and more regular rhythm.
Exercise helps get rid of daily anxiety, release bad energy from within, and reconnect with a sense of well-being that helps a lot with falling asleep.
Naps
There is a debate: to nap or not to nap?
Sleep experts have found that daytime naps can improve many things: increase alertness, boost creativity, reduce stress, improve perception, endurance, motor skills and accuracy, improve your sex life, help with weight loss, reduce the risk of heart attack, brighten your mood, and boost memory.
Little tip: The ideal time for a nap is between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM and its duration should not exceed 30 minutes.
An American study even goes further, confirming that the optimal duration would be 10 minutes to increase alertness, counter fatigue, and improve cognitive performance for the rest of the day…
So, it can be a good thing for a gamer to use these 10 minutes to recharge their energy before getting back to training.
Regularity
Discipline! The motto of a pro gamer, isn't it?
Seriously, our body is built like a Swiss watch. If you set yourself a wake-up time every morning (even on the weekend!), it will allow your body to regain the right biological rhythm.
And if you can't fall asleep in the evening, do a relaxing, stress-free activity, read a good comic book or manga, but above all, keep the rhythm!
You'll see, little by little, you'll regulate yourself... like a pendulum.
Dimmed lighting and blue light
The blue light from our digital devices (phones, computers, tablets) disrupts our sleep. For our body, blue light is equivalent to daylight.
Faced with our screens, our body thinks it's high noon even if it’s pitch black outside. This is how our day/night cycle is altered and loses track of time.
Before going to bed, it is highly recommended to stay away from the blue light of our screens and favor warm, dimmed light, with a book, for example. This will allow our body to understand that it is the end of the day and instinctively help it release the sleep hormone, melatonin.
In the event that it seems impossible for you to put down your phone once in bed, you can always use anti-blue light glasses to reduce the impact of this brightness on your sleep. We offer some on the Horus-X store.
“The tiger needs sleep too”
Behind this ancient Chinese adage, you can find whatever meaning you like. Nevertheless, you should know that sleep is important and vital for the animal hiding within us.
Good quality sleep allows your body to regain its best physical and mental form to face every day, every competition, every training session like a feline.
Sleeping properly can be as complicated as performing 4/4 against the best team in the league; it requires discipline, respect for your body, and also a bit of practice.
With our explanations and tips, we hope your nights will be both sweeter and higher quality, so you never feel a single second of drowsiness in the middle of a game.
