Create a Healthy Gaming Environment in Your Home

According to the NPD Group, approximately 5.5 million gaming consoles—from Wii to X-Box to PS3—were sold in the month of November. Meanwhile, the Pew Internet & American Life Project recently reported that 53 percent of American adults play video games, and one in five plays every day. At the same time, health and lifestyle concerns have never been higher, as games like World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto create controversy and states across the union consider anti-gaming legislation. For many adults, however, healthy gaming may have less to do with politics and more to do with interior design. By creating a home entertainment area designed to promote responsible gaming, you can have your gaming console and enjoy it, too.

Lighting, Furniture, and Refrigerators
The elements of a healthy gaming environment will undoubtedly surprise many people who have misconceptions about video games. Well-lit rooms and smaller TV screens, for example, may help reduce the obsession with playing individual games, but they have little to do with long-term health risks. Lighting design is important for your gaming area, but the most important aspect of this lighting is to keep a comfortable level of visual cues and stimulus. Well-lit rooms help minimize the "escapism" feel that can fuel gaming addiction. Medically, the most important feature of a gaming room may be as simple as it is counterintuitive: Make sure easily-accessible coffee or end tables are present for gamers. Being able to set down your controller during game breaks can dramatically cut down on the risk to repetitive-stress injuries, such as carpal-tunnel syndrome. Finally, it's a good idea to put a refrigerator in your entertainment area, full of water and nutritious food.

According to ServiceMagic, an online resource matching homeowners with contractors, evidence suggests homeowners are starting to realize the benefits of customized gaming areas. Demand for lighting design has increased 7.7 percent over the last year. Meanwhile, basement and garage remodeling—areas commonly renovated for home theaters and gaming—have risen at a faster rate than the more established kitchen and bathroom remodeling.

Age-Appropriate Entertainment Areas
Promoting responsible gaming through home entertainment areas is also something that should be done by looking at the age of household members. While the average age of a gamer is an older than expected 35, according to the Entertainment Software Association, one in four gamers is also over the age of 50. For these older gamers, comfortable, ergonomically-correct seating may be critical to a healthy gaming lifestyle. For middle-aged homeowners, locating a gaming area in a detached garage or sunroom, where gaming won't become an undue distraction from a job or marriage may be important. Finally, for parents, something as simple as being able to put a lock on the door of a home entertainment area may be an invaluable asset in keeping your kids' schoolwork a priority.

Extreme Measures, Creative Solutions
Striking a balance for your gaming room isn't easy. You want to be able to enjoy your gaming console, but the true value of creating an area in your home for your gaming activity won't be realized if this renovation doesn't accommodate an environment for responsible gaming. Of course, much of this balance can be determined by knowing yourself and the members of your household. If someone has had gaming problems or addictive tendencies in the past, one possible, if unusual, solution may be to have your home entertainment area tied to a home automation system that will shut the gaming console down at programmed times or intervals. According to ServiceMagic, installation of these home automation features have risen 5.1 percent over the past year.

Health Risks Associated with Gaming: Fact vs. Fiction

• Sitting close to the screen or playing in the dark may cause eyestrain and lead to increased fatigue, irritability, and headaches, but it won't cause lasting eye-damage.

• Gaming is not physiologically addictive, but the strength of the psychological addiction has been frequently compared to gambling.

• Gaming does not cause epilepsy, although it may be an epileptic trigger for people with Photosensitive Epilepsy, similar to television, disco lights, etc.

• Gaming can cause or be a contributing factor of deep vein thrombosis—a blood clot in a deep vein—as can any activity that promotes prolonged immobility, especially of the legs.

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